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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 5 Jun 2026.
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-0492

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.9.301 / 4.14.266 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel’s cgroup_release_agent_write in the kernel/cgroup/cgroup-v1.c function. This flaw, under certain circumstances, allows the use of the cgroups v1 release_agent feature to escalate privileges and bypass the namespace isolation unexpectedly.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This Linux kernel vulnerability in cgroup_release_agent_write (kernel/cgroup/cgroup-v1.c) allows privilege escalation and container escape via the cgroups v1 release_agent feature, which executes a program when cgroups become empty. Under specific conditions, attackers can leverage this to bypass namespace isolation.

MitigationDisable cgroups v1 release_agent feature in kernel configuration or migrate to cgroups v2 (which lacks this feature). Apply kernel patches if available and ensure release_agent is not exposed in untrusted container environments.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 2.6.24, < 4.9.301>= 4.10, < 4.14.266>= 4.15, < 4.19.229>= 4.20, < 5.4.177>= 5.5, < 5.10.97>= 5.11, < 5.15.20>= 5.16, < 5.16.6= 5.17
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0= 11.0
Codeready Linux BuilderApplication
Affected:= 8.0= 8.2
Codeready Linux Builder For Power Little EndianApplication
Affected:= 8.0= 8.2
Virtualization HostApplication
Affected:= 4.0
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0
Enterprise Linux EusOperating system
Affected:= 8.2
Enterprise Linux For Ibm Z SystemsOperating system
Affected:= 8.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check kernel version
    Run `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version` to get the running kernel version
    Affected if The kernel version falls within any of the affected ranges: < 4.9.301, 4.10 to < 4.14.266, 4.15 to < 4.19.229, 4.20 to < 5.4.177, 5.5 to < 5.10.97, 5.11 to < 5.15.20, 5.16 to < 5.16.6, or 5.17.x
  2. Verify cgroups v1 is in use
    Check `/proc/cgroups` or run `mount | grep cgroup` to see if cgroups v1 is mounted
    Affected if cgroups v1 (named 'cgroup' in /proc/cgroups) is actively mounted and in use on the system
  3. Check for configured release_agent
    Run `cat /sys/fs/cgroup/*/release_agent 2>/dev/null` to see if any release_agent is set in any cgroup
    Affected if A release_agent path is configured (non-empty) in any cgroup directory under /sys/fs/cgroup/
  4. Verify cgroup write permissions
    Check write permissions on cgroup directories: `ls -la /sys/fs/cgroup/` and inspect whether unprivileged users have write access to cgroup.procs or notify_on_release files
    Affected if Unprivileged users have write access to cgroup.procs or can modify notify_on_release in a cgroup where release_agent is enabled

The system is vulnerable if it runs an affected kernel version, uses cgroups v1, and has a release_agent configured with accessible cgroup write permissions.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.9.301 / 4.14.266 / 4.19.229 or later
Fixed in 4.9.3014.14.2664.19.229
Vendor patch bugzilla.redhat.com →
Interim mitigation

Disable cgroups v1 release_agent feature in kernel configuration or migrate to cgroups v2 (which lacks this feature). Apply kernel patches if available and ensure release_agent is not exposed in untrusted container environments.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 4.9.301+, 4.14.266+, 4.19.229+, or 5.4.177+ (or receive vendor patches for Debian/RHEL)

  1. Check current kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. Identify which kernel branch you are currently running (e.g., 4.9.x, 4.14.x, 4.19.x, or 5.4.x)
  3. For upstream kernels: upgrade to version 4.9.301 or later, 4.14.266 or later, 4.19.229 or later, or 5.4.177 or later
  4. For Debian systems: apply Debian kernel security updates (run 'apt update && apt upgrade' or check DSA-500x for the specific patch)
  5. For Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems: apply the vendor kernel update via 'yum update' or 'dnf update' for the specific errata
  6. Reboot the system into the new kernel after applying updates
  7. Verify the fix by checking that the cgroup v1 release_agent file permissions are properly restricted (e.g., 'ls -la /sys/fs/cgroup/cgroup.release_agent' should show restrictive permissions)
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with out-of-tree kernel modules or proprietary drivers; test thoroughly in non-production environments first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-0492 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data