Local system hang via wireless interface teardown race
Published Jul 16, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026
Race condition in Linux kernel cfg80211 allows local users to hang the system during netlink-owned wireless interface teardown. cfg80211_destroy_ifaces closes marked devices in one pass and destroys them in a second while nl80211_netlink_notify can mark another interface, sending an unclosed device into the locked destruction path and causing a deadlock. Triggering the race requires local low-privileged access, two qualifying wireless devices, and concurrent netlink-owner cleanup; the bounded impact is a system hang.
Summary
What happened
Race condition in Linux kernel cfg80211 allows local users to hang the system during netlink-owned wireless interface teardown. cfg80211_destroy_ifaces closes marked devices in one pass and destroys them in a second while nl80211_netlink_notify can mark another interface, sending an unclosed device into the locked destruction path and causing a deadlock. Triggering the race requires local low-privileged access, two qualifying wireless devices, and concurrent netlink-owner cleanup; the bounded impact is a system hang.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-48784
- Published
- Jul 16, 2024
- Updated
- May 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-362, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 16, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 23, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=2e4f97122f3a9df870dfe9671994136448890768
- Affected versionversion=5.12.1 <5.13
- Affected versionversion=5.13
- Affected versionversion=ea6b2098dd02789f68770fd3d5a373732207be2f <241e633cb379c4f332fc1baf2abec95ec840cbeb
- Affected versionversion=ea6b2098dd02789f68770fd3d5a373732207be2f <c979f792a2baf6d0f3419587668a1a6eba46a3d2
- Affected versionversion=ea6b2098dd02789f68770fd3d5a373732207be2f <f0a6fd1527067da537e9c48390237488719948ed
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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