Menu

Star on GitHub · 3.2k

CVE-2022-50224

5.5 · MEDIUM

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: x86/mmu: Treat NX as a valid SPTE bit for NPT Treat the NX bit as valid when using NPT, as KVM will set the NX bit when th…

Published Jun 18, 2025EPSS 0.19%

Overview

CVE-2022-50224 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on June 18, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

KVM: x86/mmu: Treat NX as a valid SPTE bit for NPT

Treat the NX bit as valid when using NPT, as KVM will set the NX bit when

the NX huge page mitigation is enabled (mindblowing) and trigger the WARN

that fires on reserved SPTE bits being set.

KVM has required NX support for SVM since commit b26a71a1a5b9 ("KVM: SVM:

Refuse to load kvm_amd if NX support is not available") for exactly this

reason, but apparently it never occurred to anyone to actually test NPT

with the mitigation enabled.

------------[ cut here ]------------

spte = 0x800000018a600ee7, level = 2, rsvd bits = 0x800f0000001fe000

WARNING: CPU: 152 PID: 15966 at arch/x86/kvm/mmu/spte.c:215 make_spte+0x327/0x340 [kvm]

Hardware name: Google, Inc. Arcadia_IT_80/Arcadia_IT_80, BIOS 10.48.0 01/27/2022

RIP: 0010:make_spte+0x327/0x340 [kvm]

Call Trace:

<TASK>

tdp_mmu_map_handle_target_level+0xc3/0x230 [kvm]

kvm_tdp_mmu_map+0x343/0x3b0 [kvm]

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-50224?

CVE-2022-50224 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on June 18, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2022-50224?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2022-50224?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2022-50224?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2022-50224 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

Related MEDIUM CVEs from 2022

View all