CVE-2022-24122

Local privilege escalation via stale namespace reference

Published Jan 29, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Use-after-free in Linux kernel 5.14 through 5.16.4 allows local users to escalate privileges through unprivileged user namespaces. The alloc_ucounts function stores a user_namespace pointer without taking an independent reference, allowing a ucounts object to retain a freed namespace. An unprivileged local account can reach the flaw only when unprivileged user namespaces are enabled, gaining elevated kernel-level privileges.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability1.01%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in Linux kernel 5.14 through 5.16.4 allows local users to escalate privileges through unprivileged user namespaces. The alloc_ucounts function stores a user_namespace pointer without taking an independent reference, allowing a ucounts object to retain a freed namespace. An unprivileged local account can reach the flaw only when unprivileged user namespaces are enabled, gaining elevated kernel-level privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-24122
Published
Jan 29, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-416, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 29, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8Canonical UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.9NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-416Use After Free
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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