Local privilege escalation via dangling TUN NAPI entry
Published Feb 26, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in the TUN/TAP driver in Linux allows local users to crash the kernel or gain kernel privileges through local device operations. The queue-detachment path frees a tun_file without removing its embedded NAPI object from the network device's NAPI list, leaving a dangling list entry. Exploitation requires local access to /dev/net/tun and CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user-created network namespace; concurrent queue detach, link deletion, and file close can cause a kernel panic or memory corruption.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the TUN/TAP driver in Linux allows local users to crash the kernel or gain kernel privileges through local device operations. The queue-detachment path frees a tun_file without removing its embedded NAPI object from the network device's NAPI list, leaving a dangling list entry. Exploitation requires local access to /dev/net/tun and CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user-created network namespace; concurrent queue detach, link deletion, and file close can cause a kernel panic or memory corruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-49672
- Published
- Feb 26, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-362, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=4.15
- Affected versionversion=943170998b200190f99d3fe7e771437e2c51f319 <3b9bc84d311104906d2b4995a9a02d7b7ddab2db
- Affected versionversion=943170998b200190f99d3fe7e771437e2c51f319 <8145f77d38de4f88b8a69e1463f5c09ba189d77c
- Affected versionversion=943170998b200190f99d3fe7e771437e2c51f319 <82e729aee59acefe135fceffadcbc5b86dd4f1b9
- Affected versionversion=943170998b200190f99d3fe7e771437e2c51f319 <8661d4b8faa2f7ee7a559969c0a7c57f077b1728
- Affected versionversion=943170998b200190f99d3fe7e771437e2c51f319 <a8cf919022373c97a84fe596bbea544f909c485d
- Affected versionversion=943170998b200190f99d3fe7e771437e2c51f319 <bec1be0a745ab420718217e3e0d9542a75108989
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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