Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2022-48914
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: xen/netfront: destroy queues before real_num_tx_queues is zeroed xennet_destroy_queues() relies on info->netdev->real_num_tx_queues to delete queues. Since d7dac083414eb5bb99a6d2ed53dc2c1b405224e5 ("net-sysfs: update the queue counts in the unregistration path"), unregister_netdev() indirectly sets real_num_tx_queues to 0. Those two facts together means, that xennet_destroy_queues() called from xennet_remove() cannot do its job, because it's called after unregister_netdev(). This results in kfree-ing queues that are still linked in napi, which ultimately crashes: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 1 PID: 52 Comm: xenwatch Tainted: G W 5.16.10-1.32.fc32.qubes.x86_64+ #226 RIP: 0010:free_netdev+0xa3/0x1a0 Code: ff 48 89 df e8 2e e9 00 00 48 8b 43 50 48 8b 08 48 8d b8 a0 fe ff ff 48 8d a9 a0 fe ff ff 49 39 c4 75 26 eb 47 e8 ed c1 66 ff <48> 8b 85 60 01 00 00 48 8d 95 60 01 00 00 48 89 ef 48 2d 60 01 00 RSP: 0000:ffffc90000bcfd00 EFLAGS: 00010286 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff88800edad000 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: ffffc90000bcfc30 RDI: 00000000ffffffff RBP: fffffffffffffea0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffff88800edad050 R13: ffff8880065f8f88 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff8880066c6680 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8880f3300000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 00000000e998c006 CR4: 00000000003706e0 Call Trace: <TASK> xennet_remove+0x13d/0x300 [xen_netfront] xenbus_dev_remove+0x6d/0xf0 __device_release_driver+0x17a/0x240 device_release_driver+0x24/0x30 bus_remove_device+0xd8/0x140 device_del+0x18b/0x410 ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x16/0x30 ? klist_iter_exit+0x14/0x20 ? xenbus_dev_request_and_reply+0x80/0x80 device_unregister+0x13/0x60 xenbus_dev_changed+0x18e/0x1f0 xenwatch_thread+0xc0/0x1a0 ? do_wait_intr_irq+0xa0/0xa0 kthread+0x16b/0x190 ? set_kthread_struct+0x40/0x40 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 </TASK> Fix this by calling xennet_destroy_queues() from xennet_uninit(), when real_num_tx_queues is still available. This ensures that queues are destroyed when real_num_tx_queues is set to 0, regardless of how unregister_netdev() was called. Originally reported at https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/7257
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 code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.
General guidance for the null pointer dereference 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
>= 4.19.226, < 4.19.233>= 5.4.174, < 5.4.183>= 5.10.94, < 5.10.104>= 5.15.17, < 5.15.27>= 5.16.3, < 5.16.13CVSS 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
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 · scoped4.19.2335.4.1835.10.104
Linux kernel 4.19.233+, 5.4.183+, 5.10.104+, or 5.15.27+ (depending on your kernel branch)
- Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
- Check which affected kernel version branch your system is using (4.19.x, 5.4.x, 5.10.x, or 5.15.x)
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version: 4.19.233 or later, 5.4.183 or later, 5.10.104 or later, or 5.15.27 or later
- For systems using distribution packages, update via package manager (e.g., 'apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade' or 'yum update' or 'dnf update')
- Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking 'uname -r' shows a version >= the fixed version for your branch
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-2022-48914 — 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-2022-48914 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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