CVE-2022-50642: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2022-50642 is a use-after-free and double-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's platform/chrome: cros_ec_typec driver. The flaw exists in the cros_typec_get_switch_handles function, which allocates four pointers for Type-C switch handles; if any allocation fails, all pointers are freed, but the corresponding fields in the port structure are not zeroed out, leaving stale pointers that can be dereferenced in later code paths. The vulnerability was published on December 9, 2025, and affects Linux kernel versions starting from 5.9 (commit f28adb41dab4) up to the patched stable releases. The CVSS category is estimated as Medium, with an EPSS score of approximately 0.018% (Feedly).

The root cause is improper pointer lifecycle management (CWE-416: Use After Free / CWE-415: Double Free) in the cros_ec_typec Chrome platform driver within the Linux kernel. When cros_typec_get_switch_handles fails to obtain one or more USB Type-C switch handles, it frees all allocated pointers but does not NULL out the corresponding fields in the port structure. Subsequent code paths that reference these fields will operate on freed memory, potentially triggering use-after-free or double-free conditions. The fix zeroes out all pointer fields immediately after freeing them to prevent stale pointer dereferences (Feedly).

Exploitation of this vulnerability could allow a local attacker or a kernel code path triggered by hardware events (e.g., USB Type-C plug/unplug) to cause kernel memory corruption via use-after-free or double-free conditions. This may result in a kernel panic (denial of service), privilege escalation, or arbitrary code execution in kernel context, depending on heap layout and exploitation technique. The impact is limited to systems running the affected cros_ec_typec driver, which is primarily present on Chromebook and Chrome OS-based hardware (Feedly).

No public proof-of-concept exploit code or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported for CVE-2022-50642. The EPSS score is approximately 0.018%, indicating a very low probability of exploitation in the near term. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Exploitation would require local access or the ability to trigger Type-C switch handle allocation failures on affected hardware (Feedly).

The Linux kernel stable tree has released patches addressing this vulnerability across multiple stable branches. Fixed versions include Linux 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, and 6.2 (mainline). Users should update to these or later kernel versions. The patches are available via the following stable commits: 0ceadb5a3e45 (5.15.x), b610758bb3e0 (6.0.x), 6613f36a2fa5 (6.1.x), and 9a8aadcf0b45 (6.2). Distribution maintainers (e.g., SUSE) have also backported the fix; users should apply available distribution kernel updates (Feedly).