CVE-2022-50710: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2022-50710 is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Intel Ethernet Controller (ice) driver. It arises when a user changes the number of queues via ethtool, causing the driver to allocate new Tx rings without initializing the tx_tstamps field. Because kcalloc zeroes the allocation, the uninitialized pointer is NULL, and any subsequent attempt to perform a transmit timestamp on the new ring triggers a NULL pointer dereference. The vulnerability was published on December 24, 2025, and affects the Linux kernel across multiple stable branches. No CVSS score has been assigned by NVD at this time (Feedly, CVE Record).

The root cause is improper initialization of the tx_tstamps pointer in the ice driver's ring allocation path (CWE classification not formally assigned by NVD). When ethtool is used to change the queue count, the driver calls kcalloc to allocate new Tx ring structures; however, the code path responsible for setting tx_tstamps is not invoked for these newly created rings, leaving the field as NULL. When the kernel subsequently attempts to dereference this pointer during a PTP transmit timestamp operation, a NULL pointer dereference kernel panic occurs. Fixes were applied to multiple stable kernel trees via commits 624f03a, 9eb5fff, b3b1737, and 13180cb (kernel.org patch 1, kernel.org patch 2).

Successful triggering of this vulnerability causes a kernel NULL pointer dereference, resulting in a kernel panic and system crash — a complete loss of availability for the affected host. The vulnerability is locally triggerable by a user with sufficient privileges to invoke ethtool to change queue counts on a system using the Intel ice network driver with PTP timestamping enabled. There is no known confidentiality or integrity impact; the primary consequence is a denial of service through kernel crash (Feedly).

Patches have been backported to multiple stable Linux kernel branches: version 5.15.75, 5.19.17, 6.0.3, and 6.1 and later. Administrators should update to a patched kernel version that includes one of the upstream fixes (624f03a, 9eb5fff, b3b1737, or 13180cb). As a workaround, avoiding changes to the Tx queue count via ethtool on systems using the ice driver with PTP hardware timestamping enabled will prevent triggering the vulnerability. SUSE has also issued kernel security updates addressing this CVE (linuxsecurity.com, kernel.org patch 1).