watch_queue: Fix NULL dereference in error cleanup
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: watch_queue: Fix NULL dereference in error cleanup In watch_queue_set_size(), the error cleanup code doesn't take account of the fact that __free_page() can't handle a NULL pointer when trying to free up buffer pages that did get allocated. Fix this by only calling __free_page() on the pages actually allocated. Without the fix, this can lead to something like the following: BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in __free_pages+0x1f/0x1b0 mm/page_alloc.c:5473 Read of size 4 at addr 0000000000000034 by task syz-executor168/3599 ... Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0xcd/0x134 lib/dump_stack.c:106 __kasan_report mm/kasan/report.c:446 [inline] kasan_report.cold+0x66/0xdf mm/kasan/report.c:459 check_region_inline mm/kasan/generic.c:183 [inline] kasan_check_range+0x13d/0x180 mm/kasan/generic.c:189 instrument_atomic_read include/linux/instrumented.h:71 [inline] atomic_read include/linux/atomic/atomic-instrumented.h:27 [inline] page_ref_count include/linux/page_ref.h:67 [inline] put_page_testzero include/linux/mm.h:717 [inline] __free_pages+0x1f/0x1b0 mm/page_alloc.c:5473 watch_queue_set_size+0x499/0x630 kernel/watch_queue.c:275 pipe_ioctl+0xac/0x2b0 fs/pipe.c:632 vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:874 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:860 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x193/0x200 fs/ioctl.c:860 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x35/0xb0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.8 and later | 5.10.110, 5.15.33, 5.16.19, 5.17.2, 5.18 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.8 and later Fixed in 5.10.110, 5.15.33, 5.16.19, 5.17.2, 5.18 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.8 to before 5.10.110; 5.11 to before 5.15.33; 5.16 to before 5.16.19; 5.17 to before 5.17.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.8 to before 5.10.110; 5.11 to before 5.15.33; 5.16 to before 5.16.19; 5.17 to before 5.17.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.110, 5.15.33, 5.16.19, 5.17.2, 5.18
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2023:6583 Released 2023-11-07 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, libperf-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +11
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.2.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-64k-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-362.8.1.el9_3 +11
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-49257
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-f5rq-w7xf-cjx9
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ae75b4ed30322b42abaa75ef1b784addfdb7dc9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/695c47cea02b9101e2fc2e7d36d552128592b347
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/112a2f9b0a8457794095a0450598f150724ec456
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6f5ad3e45d19f9c4ee3e8a2aff829f28d68591d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a635415a064e77bcfbf43da413fd9dfe0bbed9cb
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2022-49257 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-49257 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-f5rq-w7xf-cjx9 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-49257 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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