bridge: switchdev: Fix memory leaks when changing VLAN protocol
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: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bridge: switchdev: Fix memory leaks when changing VLAN protocol The bridge driver can offload VLANs to the underlying hardware either via switchdev or the 8021q driver. When the former is used, the VLAN is marked in the bridge driver with the 'BR_VLFLAG_ADDED_BY_SWITCHDEV' private flag. To avoid the memory leaks mentioned in the cited commit, the bridge driver will try to delete a VLAN via the 8021q driver if the VLAN is not marked with the previously mentioned flag. When the VLAN protocol of the bridge changes, switchdev drivers are notified via the 'SWITCHDEV_ATTR_ID_BRIDGE_VLAN_PROTOCOL' attribute, but the 8021q driver is also called to add the existing VLANs with the new protocol and delete them with the old protocol. In case the VLANs were offloaded via switchdev, the above behavior is both redundant and buggy. Redundant because the VLANs are already programmed in hardware and drivers that support VLAN protocol change (currently only mlx5) change the protocol upon the switchdev attribute notification. Buggy because the 8021q driver is called despite these VLANs being marked with 'BR_VLFLAG_ADDED_BY_SWITCHDEV'. This leads to memory leaks [1] when the VLANs are deleted. Fix by not calling the 8021q driver for VLANs that were already programmed via switchdev. [1] unreferenced object 0xffff8881f6771200 (size 256): comm "ip", pid 446855, jiffies 4298238841 (age 55.240s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 7f 0e 83 88 ff ff 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<00000000012819ac>] vlan_vid_add+0x437/0x750 [<00000000f2281fad>] __br_vlan_set_proto+0x289/0x920 [<000000000632b56f>] br_changelink+0x3d6/0x13f0 [<0000000089d25f04>] __rtnl_newlink+0x8ae/0x14c0 [<00000000f6276baf>] rtnl_newlink+0x5f/0x90 [<00000000746dc902>] rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x336/0xa00 [<000000001c2241c0>] netlink_rcv_skb+0x11d/0x340 [<0000000010588814>] netlink_unicast+0x438/0x710 [<00000000e1a4cd5c>] netlink_sendmsg+0x788/0xc40 [<00000000e8992d4e>] sock_sendmsg+0xb0/0xe0 [<00000000621b8f91>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x4ff/0x6d0 [<000000000ea26996>] ___sys_sendmsg+0x12e/0x1b0 [<00000000684f7e25>] __sys_sendmsg+0xab/0x130 [<000000004538b104>] do_syscall_64+0x3d/0x90 [<0000000091ed9678>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0
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 | 5.0 and later | 5.10.157, 5.15.80, 6.0.10, 6.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.0 and later Fixed in 5.10.157, 5.15.80, 6.0.10, 6.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 13
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0.1 to before 5.10.157; 5.11 to before 5.15.80; 5.16 to before 6.0.10 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.0 rc8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0.1 to before 5.10.157; 5.11 to before 5.15.80; 5.16 to before 6.0.10 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.0:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.0 rc8 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.157, 5.15.80, 6.0.10, 6.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-49812
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-9x8c-4rx4-5mxv
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
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-2022-49812 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-49812 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-9x8c-4rx4-5mxv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-49812 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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