Local privilege escalation via freed hook dereference
Published Aug 22, 2024 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux kernel netfilter allows local users to gain kernel-level privileges through a hook-registration race. __nf_register_net_hook() releases nf_hook_mutex and then validates new_hooks, allowing another thread to free that allocation before hooks_validate() dereferences it. Local namespace access supplies the required netfilter capability; controlled heap reuse enables kernel-memory access and code execution, while an uncontrolled dereference panics the host.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux kernel netfilter allows local users to gain kernel-level privileges through a hook-registration race. __nf_register_net_hook() releases nf_hook_mutex and then validates new_hooks, allowing another thread to free that allocation before hooks_validate() dereferences it. Local namespace access supplies the required netfilter capability; controlled heap reuse enables kernel-memory access and code execution, while an uncontrolled dereference panics the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-48912
- Published
- Aug 22, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 22, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 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=2420b79f8c18a75ee2417cace381f4604b9b4365 <05f7927b25d2635e87267ff6c79db79fb46cf313
- Affected versionversion=2420b79f8c18a75ee2417cace381f4604b9b4365 <49c24579cec41e32f13d57b337fd28fb208d4a5b
- Affected versionversion=2420b79f8c18a75ee2417cace381f4604b9b4365 <56763f12b0f02706576a088e85ef856deacc98a0
- Affected versionversion=2420b79f8c18a75ee2417cace381f4604b9b4365 <5a8076e98dde17224dd47283b894a8b1dbe1bc72
- Affected versionversion=2420b79f8c18a75ee2417cace381f4604b9b4365 <8b0142c4143c1ca297dcf2c0cdd045d65dae2344
- Affected versionversion=2420b79f8c18a75ee2417cace381f4604b9b4365 <bd61f192a339b1095dfd6d56073a5265934c2979
- Affected versionversion=2420b79f8c18a75ee2417cace381f4604b9b4365 <bdd8fc1b826e6f23963f5bef3f7431c6188ec954
- Affected versionversion=4.14
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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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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