Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49763

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-01

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.9.334 / 4.14.300 or later.

See remediation →

80/100

Remediation priority · High

Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntfs: fix use-after-free in ntfs_attr_find() Patch series "ntfs: fix bugs about Attribute", v2. This patchset fixes three bugs relative to Attribute in record: Patch 1 adds a sanity check to ensure that, attrs_offset field in first mft record loading from disk is within bounds. Patch 2 moves the ATTR_RECORD's bounds checking earlier, to avoid dereferencing ATTR_RECORD before checking this ATTR_RECORD is within bounds. Patch 3 adds an overflow checking to avoid possible forever loop in ntfs_attr_find(). Without patch 1 and patch 2, the kernel triggersa KASAN use-after-free detection as reported by Syzkaller. Although one of patch 1 or patch 2 can fix this, we still need both of them. Because patch 1 fixes the root cause, and patch 2 not only fixes the direct cause, but also fixes the potential out-of-bounds bug. This patch (of 3): Syzkaller reported use-after-free read as follows: ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ntfs_attr_find+0xc02/0xce0 fs/ntfs/attrib.c:597 Read of size 2 at addr ffff88807e352009 by task syz-executor153/3607 [...] Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xcd/0x134 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:317 [inline] print_report.cold+0x2ba/0x719 mm/kasan/report.c:433 kasan_report+0xb1/0x1e0 mm/kasan/report.c:495 ntfs_attr_find+0xc02/0xce0 fs/ntfs/attrib.c:597 ntfs_attr_lookup+0x1056/0x2070 fs/ntfs/attrib.c:1193 ntfs_read_inode_mount+0x89a/0x2580 fs/ntfs/inode.c:1845 ntfs_fill_super+0x1799/0x9320 fs/ntfs/super.c:2854 mount_bdev+0x34d/0x410 fs/super.c:1400 legacy_get_tree+0x105/0x220 fs/fs_context.c:610 vfs_get_tree+0x89/0x2f0 fs/super.c:1530 do_new_mount fs/namespace.c:3040 [inline] path_mount+0x1326/0x1e20 fs/namespace.c:3370 do_mount fs/namespace.c:3383 [inline] __do_sys_mount fs/namespace.c:3591 [inline] __se_sys_mount fs/namespace.c:3568 [inline] __x64_sys_mount+0x27f/0x300 fs/namespace.c:3568 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd [...] </TASK> The buggy address belongs to the physical page: page:ffffea0001f8d400 refcount:1 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x7e350 head:ffffea0001f8d400 order:3 compound_mapcount:0 compound_pincount:0 flags: 0xfff00000010200(slab|head|node=0|zone=1|lastcpupid=0x7ff) raw: 00fff00000010200 0000000000000000 dead000000000122 ffff888011842140 raw: 0000000000000000 0000000000040004 00000001ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected Memory state around the buggy address: ffff88807e351f00: fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc ffff88807e351f80: fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc >ffff88807e352000: fa fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ^ ffff88807e352080: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ffff88807e352100: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb ================================================================== Kernel will loads $MFT/$DATA's first mft record in ntfs_read_inode_mount(). Yet the problem is that after loading, kernel doesn't check whether attrs_offset field is a valid value. To be more specific, if attrs_offset field is larger than bytes_allocated field, then it may trigger the out-of-bounds read bug(reported as use-after-free bug) in ntfs_attr_find(), when kernel tries to access the corresponding mft record's attribute. This patch solves it by adding the sanity check between attrs_offset field and bytes_allocated field, after loading the first mft record.

Technical summary

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

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:< 4.9.334>= 4.10, < 4.14.300>= 4.15, < 4.19.267>= 4.20, < 5.4.225>= 5.5, < 5.10.156>= 5.11, < 5.15.80>= 5.16, < 6.0.10

CVSS breakdown

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

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.9.334 / 4.14.300 / 4.19.267 or later

Fixed in 4.9.3344.14.3004.19.267

Vendor patch git.kernel.org →

Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 5.4.225 (or 4.19.267, 4.14.300, or 4.9.334 and later)

Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
Verify the kernel version is within one of the affected ranges: < 4.9.334, >= 4.10 and < 4.14.300, >= 4.15 and < 4.19.267, or >= 4.20 and < 5.4.225
Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 5.4.225 or later, OR version 4.19.267 or later, OR version 4.14.300 or later, OR version 4.9.334 or later
Update bootloader configuration if necessary (e.g., update-grub for GRUB)
Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming ntfs_attr_find no longer has the vulnerability

Caveat Kernel upgrade may require system reboot and could introduce regressions in other drivers; ensure compatibility with system hardware and software stack before upgrading in production

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

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-49763 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2022-49763?

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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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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 4.9.334 / 4.14.300 or later

Severity 7.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.2%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~18 hrs

ComplexityComplex

Typical engagementfrom $3,200

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2022-49763 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References