Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2022-48649
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/slab_common: fix possible double free of kmem_cache When doing slub_debug test, kfence's 'test_memcache_typesafe_by_rcu' kunit test case cause a use-after-free error: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in kobject_del+0x14/0x30 Read of size 8 at addr ffff888007679090 by task kunit_try_catch/261 CPU: 1 PID: 261 Comm: kunit_try_catch Tainted: G B N 6.0.0-rc5-next-20220916 #17 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x34/0x48 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x87/0x2a5 print_report+0x103/0x1ed kasan_report+0xb7/0x140 kobject_del+0x14/0x30 kmem_cache_destroy+0x130/0x170 test_exit+0x1a/0x30 kunit_try_run_case+0xad/0xc0 kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x26/0x50 kthread+0x17b/0x1b0 </TASK> The cause is inside kmem_cache_destroy(): kmem_cache_destroy acquire lock/mutex shutdown_cache schedule_work(kmem_cache_release) (if RCU flag set) release lock/mutex kmem_cache_release (if RCU flag not set) In some certain timing, the scheduled work could be run before the next RCU flag checking, which can then get a wrong value and lead to double kmem_cache_release(). Fix it by caching the RCU flag inside protected area, just like 'refcnt'
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 analysisThe same block of memory is freed twice, corrupting the allocator's bookkeeping in ways an attacker can shape toward code execution. It usually stems from tangled ownership of a pointer. The fix is clear, single ownership of each allocation and clearing pointers once they are freed.
General guidance for the double free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
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
>= 5.19.8, < 5.19.12CVSS 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
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 · scoped5.19.12
Linux Kernel 5.19.12
- Upgrade Linux Kernel to version 5.19.12 or later to resolve the double free vulnerability in kmem_cache_destroy()
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-48649 — 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-2022-48649 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
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