CVE-2022-50834: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2022-50834 is a resource leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's NFC (Near Field Communication) subsystem. The flaw arises from missing calls to nfc_put_device() after nfc_get_device() increments a device reference count, resulting in a reference count leak. It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.13 up to the respective stable branch fix points. The vulnerability was published on December 30, 2025, and is estimated as Medium severity with a CVSS base score of 0.0 as currently recorded by ENISA (Feedly).

The root cause is improper resource management (CWE-400/resource leak) in the Linux kernel's nfc subsystem. When nfc_get_device() is called to obtain a reference to an NFC device, certain code paths fail to call the corresponding nfc_put_device() to release the reference when it is no longer needed, leading to a reference count that never reaches zero and the associated resources never being freed. The fix also corrects a coding style issue by replacing the non-standard ENOTSUPP error code with the correct EOPNOTSUPP. Patches were applied across multiple stable kernel branches (4.14, 4.19, 5.4, 5.10, 5.15, 6.0, 6.1, and 6.2) (Feedly).

The primary impact of this vulnerability is a kernel resource leak, which can gradually exhaust kernel memory or reference-counted objects over time if the affected NFC code paths are repeatedly triggered. This could degrade system stability and potentially lead to a denial-of-service condition on affected systems. There is no known direct path to privilege escalation, remote code execution, or data exfiltration from this vulnerability (Feedly).

The vulnerability is resolved by updating to the patched versions of the Linux kernel stable branches: 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.87, 6.0.19, 6.1.5, and 6.2 or later. Administrators should apply the relevant kernel update for their distribution as soon as it becomes available. No configuration-based workaround is known; upgrading the kernel is the recommended remediation (Feedly).