Root privilege escalation via leaked io_uring references
Published May 17, 2022 · Updated Apr 21, 2025
Integer overflow in Linux Kernel io_uring 5.4.24 through 5.4.188 allows local users to corrupt memory and gain root privileges. Certain request paths retain req->fs without releasing the associated fs->users reference; repeated requests can drive the reference counter through a controllable overflow. Local code able to submit io_uring operations can trigger the faulty request-free path and use the resulting memory corruption for privilege escalation.
Summary
What happened
Integer overflow in Linux Kernel io_uring 5.4.24 through 5.4.188 allows local users to corrupt memory and gain root privileges. Certain request paths retain req->fs without releasing the associated fs->users reference; repeated requests can drive the reference counter through a controllable overflow. Local code able to submit io_uring operations can trigger the faulty request-free path and use the resulting memory corruption for privilege escalation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-1116
- Published
- May 17, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 21, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-190, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 17, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 21, 2025Record 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=5.4.24 <unspecified
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <5.4.189
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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