CVE-2022-49649 | xen/netback: avoid entering xenvif_rx_next_skb() with an empty rx queue

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xen/netback: avoid entering xenvif_rx_next_skb() with an empty rx queue xenvif_rx_next_skb() is expecting the rx queue not being empty, but in case the loop in xenvif_rx_action() is doing multiple iterations, the availability of another skb in the rx queue is not being checked. This can lead to crashes: [40072.537261] BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at 0000000000000080 [40072.537407] IP: xenvif_rx_skb+0x23/0x590 [xen_netback] [40072.537534] PGD 0 P4D 0 [40072.537644] Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI [40072.537749] CPU: 0 PID: 12505 Comm: v1-c40247-q2-gu Not tainted 4.12.14-122.121-default #1 SLE12-SP5 [40072.537867] Hardware name: HP ProLiant DL580 Gen9/ProLiant DL580 Gen9, BIOS U17 11/23/2021 [40072.537999] task: ffff880433b38100 task.stack: ffffc90043d40000 [40072.538112] RIP: e030:xenvif_rx_skb+0x23/0x590 [xen_netback] [40072.538217] RSP: e02b:ffffc90043d43de0 EFLAGS: 00010246 [40072.538319] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffffc90043cd7cd0 RCX: 00000000000000f7 [40072.538430] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000006 RDI: ffffc90043d43df8 [40072.538531] RBP: 000000000000003f R08: 000077ff80000000 R09: 0000000000000008 [40072.538644] R10: 0000000000007ff0 R11: 00000000000008f6 R12: ffffc90043ce2708 [40072.538745] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffffc90043d43ed0 R15: ffff88043ea748c0 [40072.538861] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff880484600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [40072.538988] CS: e033 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [40072.539088] CR2: 0000000000000080 CR3: 0000000407ac8000 CR4: 0000000000040660 [40072.539211] Call Trace: [40072.539319] xenvif_rx_action+0x71/0x90 [xen_netback] [40072.539429] xenvif_kthread_guest_rx+0x14a/0x29c [xen_netback] Fix that by stopping the loop in case the rx queue becomes empty.

Published: 2025-02-26 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2022-49649 is rated Low Risk (27.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.24%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-49649

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.03% 0.24% +0.21%
2 2025-11-21 0.06% 0.03% -0.03%
3 2025-11-18 0.06%

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-49649

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-49649

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-49649

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2022-49649 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2022-49649
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-49649
suse medium https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-49649/
ubuntu medium CVE-2022-49649 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1551 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1145, released 151, ignored 146, not-affected 108, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-49649

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-49649

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 4.9, < 4.9.324 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.10, < 4.14.289 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.15, < 4.19.253 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.20, < 5.4.207 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.132 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.56 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 5.18.13 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-49649

cvelogic Threat Intelligence