System crash via gadgetfs superblock race
Published Jan 10, 2023 · Updated Apr 9, 2025
Use-after-free in Linux Kernel gadgetfs allows local users to crash the system by concurrently mounting and unmounting gadgetfs. gadgetfs_kill_sb() can free the_device while gadgetfs_fill_super() still uses it because the two superblock paths lack serialization. Exploitation requires gadgetfs, which Ubuntu does not mount by default, and concurrent mount and unmount activity on USB device-side hardware; the demonstrated consequence is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux Kernel gadgetfs allows local users to crash the system by concurrently mounting and unmounting gadgetfs. gadgetfs_kill_sb() can free the_device while gadgetfs_fill_super() still uses it because the two superblock paths lack serialization. Exploitation requires gadgetfs, which Ubuntu does not mount by default, and concurrent mount and unmount activity on USB device-side hardware; the demonstrated consequence is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-4382
- Published
- Jan 10, 2023
- Updated
- Apr 9, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 10, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 9, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=unknown
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
- syzbot gadgetfs_kill_sb C reproducerproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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