Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49349

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.9.318 / 4.14.283 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 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
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix use-after-free in ext4_rename_dir_prepare We got issue as follows: EXT4-fs (loop0): mounted filesystem without journal. Opts: ,errors=continue ext4_get_first_dir_block: bh->b_data=0xffff88810bee6000 len=34478 ext4_get_first_dir_block: *parent_de=0xffff88810beee6ae bh->b_data=0xffff88810bee6000 ext4_rename_dir_prepare: [1] parent_de=0xffff88810beee6ae ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ext4_rename_dir_prepare+0x152/0x220 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88810beee6ae by task rep/1895 CPU: 13 PID: 1895 Comm: rep Not tainted 5.10.0+ #241 Call Trace: dump_stack+0xbe/0xf9 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x1e/0x220 kasan_report.cold+0x37/0x7f ext4_rename_dir_prepare+0x152/0x220 ext4_rename+0xf44/0x1ad0 ext4_rename2+0x11c/0x170 vfs_rename+0xa84/0x1440 do_renameat2+0x683/0x8f0 __x64_sys_renameat+0x53/0x60 do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xa9 RIP: 0033:0x7f45a6fc41c9 RSP: 002b:00007ffc5a470218 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000108 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f45a6fc41c9 RDX: 0000000000000005 RSI: 0000000020000180 RDI: 0000000000000005 RBP: 00007ffc5a470240 R08: 00007ffc5a470160 R09: 0000000020000080 R10: 00000000200001c0 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000400bb0 R13: 00007ffc5a470320 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 The buggy address belongs to the page: page:00000000440015ce refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x1 pfn:0x10beee flags: 0x200000000000000() raw: 0200000000000000 ffffea00043ff4c8 ffffea0004325608 0000000000000000 raw: 0000000000000001 0000000000000000 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected Memory state around the buggy address: ffff88810beee580: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ffff88810beee600: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff >ffff88810beee680: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ^ ffff88810beee700: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ffff88810beee780: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ================================================================== Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint ext4_rename_dir_prepare: [2] parent_de->inode=3537895424 ext4_rename_dir_prepare: [3] dir=0xffff888124170140 ext4_rename_dir_prepare: [4] ino=2 ext4_rename_dir_prepare: ent->dir->i_ino=2 parent=-757071872 Reason is first directory entry which 'rec_len' is 34478, then will get illegal parent entry. Now, we do not check directory entry after read directory block in 'ext4_get_first_dir_block'. To solve this issue, check directory entry in 'ext4_get_first_dir_block'. [ Trigger an ext4_error() instead of just warning if the directory is missing a '.' or '..' entry. Also make sure we return an error code if the file system is corrupted. -TYT ]

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after 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
Affected:< 4.9.318>= 4.10, < 4.14.283>= 4.15, < 4.19.247>= 4.20, < 5.4.198>= 5.5, < 5.10.121>= 5.11, < 5.15.46>= 5.16, < 5.17.14>= 5.18, < 5.18.3

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.9.318 / 4.14.283 / 4.19.247 or later
Fixed in 4.9.3184.14.2834.19.247
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

5.4.198 (or 4.14.283, 4.19.247, or 4.9.318 depending on your branch)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Determine which stable branch your current kernel belongs to (e.g., 4.9.y, 4.14.y, 4.19.y, or 5.4.y)
  3. Upgrade to the corresponding fixed kernel version: for 4.9.x upgrade to 4.9.318 or later; for 4.14.x upgrade to 4.14.283 or later; for 4.19.x upgrade to 4.19.247 or later; for 5.4.x upgrade to 5.4.198 or later
  4. Reboot the system to apply the new kernel
  5. Verify the fix by checking 'ext4_get_first_dir_block' now properly validates directory entries before use
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules; ensure driver compatibility before upgrading

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-49349 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-49349 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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