ntb_netdev: Use dev_kfree_skb_any() in interrupt context
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: ntb_netdev: Use dev_kfree_skb_any() in interrupt context TX/RX callback handlers (ntb_netdev_tx_handler(), ntb_netdev_rx_handler()) can be called in interrupt context via the DMA framework when the respective DMA operations have completed. As such, any calls by these routines to free skb's, should use the interrupt context safe dev_kfree_skb_any() function. Previously, these callback handlers would call the interrupt unsafe version of dev_kfree_skb(). This has not presented an issue on Intel IOAT DMA engines as that driver utilizes tasklets rather than a hard interrupt handler, like the AMD PTDMA DMA driver. On AMD systems, a kernel WARNING message is encountered, which is being issued from skb_release_head_state() due to in_hardirq() being true. Besides the user visible WARNING from the kernel, the other symptom of this bug was that TCP/IP performance across the ntb_netdev interface was very poor, i.e. approximately an order of magnitude below what was expected. With the repair to use dev_kfree_skb_any(), kernel WARNINGs from skb_release_head_state() ceased and TCP/IP performance, as measured by iperf, was on par with expected results, approximately 20 Gb/s on AMD Milan based server. Note that this performance is comparable with Intel based servers.
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 | 3.9 and later | 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, 6.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 3.9 and later Fixed in 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, 6.2 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 3.9 to before 4.9.337; 4.10 to before 4.14.303; 4.15 to before 4.19.270; 4.20 to before 5.4.229; 5.5 to before 5.10.163; 5.11 to before 5.15.86; 5.16 to before 6.0.16; 6.1 to before 6.1.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 3.9 to before 4.9.337; 4.10 to before 4.14.303; 4.15 to before 4.19.270; 4.20 to before 5.4.229; 5.5 to before 5.10.163; 5.11 to before 5.15.86; 5.16 to before 6.0.16; 6.1 to before 6.1.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, 6.2
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 yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| 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-2022-50476
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-gh9q-398w-69gx
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4460c82177899751975180c268f352893302221
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd860b39aa7c7b82e6c99b6fdb99d4610ce49d67
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8b78493968ed3cef0326183ed059c55e42f24d5b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a6b9e09403102bdf8402dae734800e4916c7ea58
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/13286ad1c7c49c606fdcba4cf66f953a1a16c1ca
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/21296a52caa6a6bad6debdfe40ad81d4f1a27e69
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/14d245da57a11e80277ab455aa9b6dcc5ed38a19
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/07e28a8f450217db679802ebd4de0915556ce846
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f7d78b2b12a9d561f48fa00bab29b40f4616dad
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-2022-50476 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-50476 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-gh9q-398w-69gx · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-50476 · 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