Host crash via retained freed driver entry
Published Feb 26, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in the Linux kernel driver core from 3.9 allows local users with module-loading privileges to crash the host. When driver_attach fails, driver_private is freed while its node remains linked in the bus driver list, so later list traversal dereferences freed memory. Reaching the flaw requires CAP_SYS_MODULE in the initial user namespace; successful memory corruption can also compromise kernel confidentiality and integrity.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Linux kernel driver core from 3.9 allows local users with module-loading privileges to crash the host. When driver_attach fails, driver_private is freed while its node remains linked in the bus driver list, so later list traversal dereferences freed memory. Reaching the flaw requires CAP_SYS_MODULE in the initial user namespace; successful memory corruption can also compromise kernel confidentiality and integrity.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-49385
- Published
- Feb 26, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 26, 2025CVE 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=190888ac01d059e38ffe77a2291d44cafa9016fb <310862e574001a97ad02272bac0fd13f75f42a27
- Affected versionversion=190888ac01d059e38ffe77a2291d44cafa9016fb <5389101257828d1913d713d9a40acbe14f5961df
- Affected versionversion=190888ac01d059e38ffe77a2291d44cafa9016fb <5d709f58c743166fe1c6914b9de0ae8868600d9b
- Affected versionversion=190888ac01d059e38ffe77a2291d44cafa9016fb <823f24f2e329babd0330200d0b74882516fe57f4
- Affected versionversion=190888ac01d059e38ffe77a2291d44cafa9016fb <c059665c84feab46b7173d3a1bf36c2fb7f9df86
- Affected versionversion=190888ac01d059e38ffe77a2291d44cafa9016fb <cdf1a683a01583bca4b618dd16223cbd6e462e21
- Affected versionversion=3.9
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
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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