Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2022-49979

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.141 / 5.15.65 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: net: fix refcount bug in sk_psock_get (2) Syzkaller reports refcount bug as follows: ------------[ cut here ]------------ refcount_t: saturated; leaking memory. WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 3605 at lib/refcount.c:19 refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x1e0 lib/refcount.c:19 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 PID: 3605 Comm: syz-executor208 Not tainted 5.18.0-syzkaller-03023-g7e062cda7d90 #0 <TASK> __refcount_add_not_zero include/linux/refcount.h:163 [inline] __refcount_inc_not_zero include/linux/refcount.h:227 [inline] refcount_inc_not_zero include/linux/refcount.h:245 [inline] sk_psock_get+0x3bc/0x410 include/linux/skmsg.h:439 tls_data_ready+0x6d/0x1b0 net/tls/tls_sw.c:2091 tcp_data_ready+0x106/0x520 net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:4983 tcp_data_queue+0x25f2/0x4c90 net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:5057 tcp_rcv_state_process+0x1774/0x4e80 net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:6659 tcp_v4_do_rcv+0x339/0x980 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:1682 sk_backlog_rcv include/net/sock.h:1061 [inline] __release_sock+0x134/0x3b0 net/core/sock.c:2849 release_sock+0x54/0x1b0 net/core/sock.c:3404 inet_shutdown+0x1e0/0x430 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:909 __sys_shutdown_sock net/socket.c:2331 [inline] __sys_shutdown_sock net/socket.c:2325 [inline] __sys_shutdown+0xf1/0x1b0 net/socket.c:2343 __do_sys_shutdown net/socket.c:2351 [inline] __se_sys_shutdown net/socket.c:2349 [inline] __x64_sys_shutdown+0x50/0x70 net/socket.c:2349 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+0x46/0xb0 </TASK> During SMC fallback process in connect syscall, kernel will replaces TCP with SMC. In order to forward wakeup smc socket waitqueue after fallback, kernel will sets clcsk->sk_user_data to origin smc socket in smc_fback_replace_callbacks(). Later, in shutdown syscall, kernel will calls sk_psock_get(), which treats the clcsk->sk_user_data as psock type, triggering the refcnt warning. So, the root cause is that smc and psock, both will use sk_user_data field. So they will mismatch this field easily. This patch solves it by using another bit(defined as SK_USER_DATA_PSOCK) in PTRMASK, to mark whether sk_user_data points to a psock object or not. This patch depends on a PTRMASK introduced in commit f1ff5ce2cd5e ("net, sk_msg: Clear sk_user_data pointer on clone if tagged"). For there will possibly be more flags in the sk_user_data field, this patch also refactor sk_user_data flags code to be more generic to improve its maintainability.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:< 5.10.141>= 5.11, < 5.15.65>= 5.16, < 5.19.7

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 5.10.141 / 5.15.65 / 5.19.7 or later
Fixed in 5.10.1415.15.655.19.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.10.141+ (for 5.10.x), 5.15.65+ (for 5.15.x), or 5.19.7+ (for 5.16-5.19.x)

  1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which kernel branch your version belongs to (5.10.x, 5.15.x, or 5.16-5.19.x)
  3. For systems running kernel < 5.10.141: Upgrade to kernel version 5.10.141 or later
  4. For systems running kernel 5.11.x - 5.15.x: Upgrade to kernel version 5.15.65 or later
  5. For systems running kernel 5.16.x - 5.19.x: Upgrade to kernel version 5.19.7 or later
  6. Alternatively, use the latest stable kernel from the appropriate branch (e.g., 5.10.y, 5.15.y, or 5.19.y)
  7. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require recompilation of kernel modules; ensure third-party modules are compatible with the new kernel version

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

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-49979 — 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-2022-49979 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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