Local privilege escalation via undersized watch_queue bitmaps
Published Mar 25, 2022 · Updated Aug 27, 2026
Out-of-bounds writes in the Linux Kernel watch_queue subsystem before 5.17-rc8 allow local users to gain privileges or crash the system. The filter path accepts type values beyond its fixed type bitmap, while watch_queue_set_size derives an allocation bitmap from the requested rather than actual note count, permitting bit operations past both allocations. Any local low-privileged user can trigger the writes; successful exploitation grants kernel-level privileges, while failed attempts can panic the host.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds writes in the Linux Kernel watch_queue subsystem before 5.17-rc8 allow local users to gain privileges or crash the system. The filter path accepts type values beyond its fixed type bitmap, while watch_queue_set_size derives an allocation bitmap from the requested rather than actual note count, permitting bit operations past both allocations. Any local low-privileged user can trigger the writes; successful exploitation grants kernel-level privileges, while failed attempts can panic the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-0995
- Published
- Mar 25, 2022
- Updated
- Aug 27, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-787, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 25, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=kernel 5.17 rc8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
- Bonfee CVE-2022-0995 exploitfunctional · demonstrated
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Reported exploitation
- CISA KEV listing for CVE-2022-0995known exploited catalog
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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