net: fix refcount bug in sk_psock_get (2)
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: fix refcount bug in sk_psock_get (2) Syzkaller reports refcount bug as follows: ------------[ cut here ]------------ refcount_t: saturated; leaking memory. WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 3605 at lib/refcount.c:19 refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x1e0 lib/refcount.c:19 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 PID: 3605 Comm: syz-executor208 Not tainted 5.18.0-syzkaller-03023-g7e062cda7d90 #0 <TASK> __refcount_add_not_zero include/linux/refcount.h:163 [inline] __refcount_inc_not_zero include/linux/refcount.h:227 [inline] refcount_inc_not_zero include/linux/refcount.h:245 [inline] sk_psock_get+0x3bc/0x410 include/linux/skmsg.h:439 tls_data_ready+0x6d/0x1b0 net/tls/tls_sw.c:2091 tcp_data_ready+0x106/0x520 net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:4983 tcp_data_queue+0x25f2/0x4c90 net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:5057 tcp_rcv_state_process+0x1774/0x4e80 net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:6659 tcp_v4_do_rcv+0x339/0x980 net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:1682 sk_backlog_rcv include/net/sock.h:1061 [inline] __release_sock+0x134/0x3b0 net/core/sock.c:2849 release_sock+0x54/0x1b0 net/core/sock.c:3404 inet_shutdown+0x1e0/0x430 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:909 __sys_shutdown_sock net/socket.c:2331 [inline] __sys_shutdown_sock net/socket.c:2325 [inline] __sys_shutdown+0xf1/0x1b0 net/socket.c:2343 __do_sys_shutdown net/socket.c:2351 [inline] __se_sys_shutdown net/socket.c:2349 [inline] __x64_sys_shutdown+0x50/0x70 net/socket.c:2349 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+0x46/0xb0 </TASK> During SMC fallback process in connect syscall, kernel will replaces TCP with SMC. In order to forward wakeup smc socket waitqueue after fallback, kernel will sets clcsk->sk_user_data to origin smc socket in smc_fback_replace_callbacks(). Later, in shutdown syscall, kernel will calls sk_psock_get(), which treats the clcsk->sk_user_data as psock type, triggering the refcnt warning. So, the root cause is that smc and psock, both will use sk_user_data field. So they will mismatch this field easily. This patch solves it by using another bit(defined as SK_USER_DATA_PSOCK) in PTRMASK, to mark whether sk_user_data points to a psock object or not. This patch depends on a PTRMASK introduced in commit f1ff5ce2cd5e ("net, sk_msg: Clear sk_user_data pointer on clone if tagged"). For there will possibly be more flags in the sk_user_data field, this patch also refactor sk_user_data flags code to be more generic to improve its maintainability.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
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 | 5.15.22 to before 5.15.65; 5.16.8 to before 5.17 | 5.15.65, 5.17 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.17 and later | 5.15.65, 5.19.7, 6.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15.22 to before 5.15.65; 5.16.8 to before 5.17 Fixed in 5.15.65, 5.17 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.17 and later Fixed in 5.15.65, 5.19.7, 6.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 5.10.141; 5.11 to before 5.15.65; 5.16 to before 5.19.7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 5.10.141; 5.11 to before 5.15.65; 5.16 to before 5.19.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.65, 5.17
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.65, 5.19.7, 6.0
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2023:2458 Released 2023-05-09 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-64k-debug-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2 +10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-7.0.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2, kernel-64k-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2 +29
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-284.11.1.el9_2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux CRB (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2023:2458 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-49979
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-q9gh-c678-j467
- 2026-10-16 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-2022-49979 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-49979 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-q9gh-c678-j467 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-49979 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences