CVE-2022-50761: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2022-50761 is a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's x86/Xen subsystem, specifically within the xen_init_lock_cpu() function. The flaw occurs when a string allocated via kasprintf() for the @name variable is not freed if the subsequent bind_ipi_to_irqhandler() call fails, resulting in a kernel memory leak. It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.27 up to the fixed releases. Patches were published on December 24, 2025, targeting stable branches including 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, and 6.2. The CVSS base score is listed as 0.0, indicating it is classified as a low-severity informational issue with no direct exploitability impact (Feedly, EUVD).

The root cause is a missing memory deallocation on an error path in xen_init_lock_cpu() (CWE-401: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime). When bind_ipi_to_irqhandler() returns an error, the function exits without freeing the @name string previously allocated by kasprintf(), causing a kernel memory leak. This is a local, kernel-space issue affecting systems running Linux as a Xen paravirtualized guest on x86 architecture. The fix involves adding a kfree(name) call on the error path to properly release the allocated memory (Feedly, EUVD).

The primary impact of this vulnerability is a kernel memory leak in systems running Linux as a Xen PV guest on x86. Repeated triggering of the error path could gradually exhaust kernel memory, potentially degrading system performance or contributing to denial-of-service conditions over time. There is no known impact on confidentiality or integrity, and the vulnerability does not enable code execution or privilege escalation (Feedly).

The Linux kernel maintainers have released fixes across multiple stable branches. Administrators should update to the following patched versions or later: 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, or 6.2. SUSE has also issued kernel security advisories (SUSE-2026-0263-1, SUSE-2026-0317-1, SUSE-2026-0411-1) addressing this issue. No configuration-based workarounds are known; upgrading the kernel is the recommended remediation (Feedly, Linux Security).