Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2022-3169
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 · uneditedA flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A denial of service flaw may occur if there is a consecutive request of the NVME_IOCTL_RESET and the NVME_IOCTL_SUBSYS_RESET through the device file of the driver, resulting in a PCIe link disconnect.
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 · moderate confidenceA denial of service vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's NVMe driver where consecutive requests of NVME_IOCTL_RESET and NVME_IOCTL_SUBSYS_RESET through the device file can cause a PCIe link disconnect. The issue stems from improper handling of reset sequencing that can leave the NVMe device in an inconsistent state.
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
= 4.19
FedoraOperating system
= 36
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 10.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the running Linux kernel versionRun `uname -r` or check `/proc/version` to obtain the exact kernel versionAffected if Kernel version is 4.19 or exactly matches the affected versions listed (4.19, Fedora 36 kernel, Debian 10.0 kernel)
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Verify NVMe devices are present in the systemCheck for NVMe device nodes with `ls -la /dev/nvme*` or scan PCI devices with `lspci | grep -i nvme`Affected if NVMe PCIe devices are enumerated at /dev/nvme* or shown in PCI listing, indicating the NVMe driver is active
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Confirm NVMe kernel driver is loadedRun `lsmod | grep nvme` to list loaded NVMe modules, or check `/sys/bus/pci/drivers/nvme` for the driver bindingAffected if The nvme kernel module is loaded or the nvme driver is bound to NVMe PCIe devices
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Inspect permissions on NVMe device filesRun `ls -la /dev/nvme*` to view device file permissions and ownershipAffected if Untrusted users have read/write access to NVMe device files (world-writable or group-writable)
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Check for exposed NVMe ioctl interfaceVerify the NVMe character device exists at /dev/nvme* and is accessible; the vulnerable ioctls NVME_IOCTL_RESET and NVME_IOCTL_SUBSYS_RESET are handled through these device filesAffected if NVMe device files exist and are accessible to users who can issue reset ioctl commands
You are affected if your kernel version matches 4.19 (or the equivalent Fedora 36/Debian 10.0 kernels) and NVMe device files are accessible to untrusted users who could trigger the improper reset sequencing.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the upstream kernel patch that adds proper synchronization and state checking between reset operations to prevent concurrent reset requests from causing PCIe link disconnects. Restrict access to NVMe device files to trusted users to reduce attack surface.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-3169 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-3169 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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