Local privilege escalation via SRCU cleanup race
Published Feb 26, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in SRCU cleanup in affected Linux kernels allows local users to gain kernel privileges by triggering a grace-period race. cleanup_srcu_struct() frees per-CPU SRCU data after checking only for a grace period already in progress, while a required grace period can still begin and access that memory. Reaching the race requires elevated local access such as non-default KVM group membership; successful exploitation grants kernel control, while an unsuccessful attempt can panic the host.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in SRCU cleanup in affected Linux kernels allows local users to gain kernel privileges by triggering a grace-period race. cleanup_srcu_struct() frees per-CPU SRCU data after checking only for a grace period already in progress, while a required grace period can still begin and access that memory. Reaching the race requires elevated local access such as non-default KVM group membership; successful exploitation grants kernel control, while an unsuccessful attempt can panic the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-49651
- Published
- Feb 26, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
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=4.12
- Affected versionversion=da915ad5cf25b5f5d358dd3670c3378d8ae8c03e <8ed00760203d8018bee042fbfe8e076579be2c2b
- Affected versionversion=da915ad5cf25b5f5d358dd3670c3378d8ae8c03e <e997dda6502eefbc1032d6b0da7b353c53344b07
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
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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