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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49879

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.224 / 5.10.154 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click 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 BUG_ON() when directory entry has invalid rec_len The rec_len field in the directory entry has to be a multiple of 4. A corrupted filesystem image can be used to hit a BUG() in ext4_rec_len_to_disk(), called from make_indexed_dir(). ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at fs/ext4/ext4.h:2413! ... RIP: 0010:make_indexed_dir+0x53f/0x5f0 ... Call Trace: <TASK> ? add_dirent_to_buf+0x1b2/0x200 ext4_add_entry+0x36e/0x480 ext4_add_nondir+0x2b/0xc0 ext4_create+0x163/0x200 path_openat+0x635/0xe90 do_filp_open+0xb4/0x160 ? __create_object.isra.0+0x1de/0x3b0 ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x12/0x30 do_sys_openat2+0x91/0x150 __x64_sys_open+0x6c/0xa0 do_syscall_64+0x3c/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0 The fix simply adds a call to ext4_check_dir_entry() to validate the directory entry, returning -EFSCORRUPTED if the entry is invalid.

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-617

Attacker-controllable input can reach an assertion that aborts the process when it fails, so a check meant for debugging becomes a denial-of-service in production. A single crafted request takes the service down. The fix is to handle unexpected input gracefully on reachable paths rather than asserting on it.

General guidance for the reachable assertion 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:< 5.4.224>= 5.5, < 5.10.154>= 5.11, < 5.15.78>= 5.16, < 6.0.8= 6.1

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
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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.4.224 / 5.10.154 / 5.15.78 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2245.10.1545.15.78
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel version 5.4.224+, 5.10.154+, 5.15.78+, 5.16+, or 6.0.8+ (depending on which stable branch is in use)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Upgrade the Linux kernel to a patched version: 5.4.224 or later, 5.10.154 or later, 5.15.78 or later, 5.16 or later, or 6.0.8 or later
  3. Update bootloader configuration if necessary (e.g., update-grub for GRUB-based systems)
  4. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  5. Verify the new kernel version is running with `uname -r`
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding third-party kernel modules; ensure compatibility with the new kernel version before rebooting

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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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-2022-49879 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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
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