high CVSS 7.8

CVE-2022-49349·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix use-after-free in ext4_rename_dir_prepare We got issue as follows: EXT4-fs (loop0): mounted filesystem without journal. Opts: ,errors=continue ext4_get_first_dir_block: bh->b_data=0xffff88810bee6000 len=34478 ext4_get_first_dir_block: *parent_de=0xffff88810beee6ae bh->b_data=0xffff88810bee6000 ext4_rename_dir_prepare: [1] parent_de=0xffff88810beee6ae ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ext4_rename_dir_prepare+0x152/0x220 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88810beee6ae by task rep/1895 CPU: 13 PID: 1895 Comm: rep Not tainted 5.10.0+ #241 Call Trace: dump_stack+0xbe/0xf9 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x1e/0x220 kasan_report.cold+0x37/0x7f ext4_rename_dir_prepare+0x152/0x220 ext4_rename+0xf44/0x1ad0 ext4_rename2+0x11c/0x170 vfs_rename+0xa84/0x1440 do_renameat2+0x683/0x8f0 __x64_sys_renameat+0x53/0x60 do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xa9 RIP: 0033:0x7f45a6fc41c9 RSP: 002b:00007ffc5a470218 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000108 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f45a6fc41c9 RDX: 0000000000000005 RSI: 0000000020000180 RDI: 0000000000000005 RBP: 00007ffc5a470240 R08: 00007ffc5a470160 R09: 0000000020000080 R10: 00000000200001c0 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000400bb0 R13: 00007ffc5a470320 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 The buggy address belongs to the page: page:00000000440015ce refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x1 pfn:0x10beee flags: 0x200000000000000() raw: 0200000000000000 ffffea00043ff4c8 ffffea0004325608 0000000000000000 raw: 0000000000000001 0000000000000000 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected Memory state around the buggy address: ffff88810beee580: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ffff88810beee600: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff >ffff88810beee680: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ^ ffff88810beee700: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ffff88810beee780: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ================================================================== Disabling lock debugging due to kernel taint ext4_rename_dir_prepare: [2] parent_de->inode=3537895424 ext4_rename_dir_prepare: [3] dir=0xffff888124170140 ext4_rename_dir_prepare: [4] ino=2 ext4_rename_dir_prepare: ent->dir->i_ino=2 parent=-757071872 Reason is first directory entry which 'rec_len' is 34478, then will get illegal parent entry. Now, we do not check directory entry after read directory block in 'ext4_get_first_dir_block'. To solve this issue, check directory entry in 'ext4_get_first_dir_block'. [ Trigger an ext4_error() instead of just warning if the directory is missing a '.' or '..' entry. Also make sure we return an error code if the file system is corrupted. -TYT ]

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
5.18.3
Published
2025-02-26

Affected versions

From: 5.18

Until: 5.18.3

Fixed in: 5.18.3

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 5.18.3 or later to patch the use-after-free vulnerability in ext4_rename_dir_prepare. This flaw can be triggered during file rename operations on ext4 filesystems with corrupted directory entries, potentially leading to kernel memory corruption and privilege escalation. Apply the kernel update immediately and reboot your system to activate the patched version.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check your current kernel version: uname -r — if it shows 5.18.0 through 5.18.2, you are vulnerable
  2. Verify ext4 is in use: mount | grep ext4 — this vulnerability only affects ext4 filesystems
  3. Search kernel logs for ext4 errors: sudo journalctl -u kernel | grep -i 'ext4.*error' to identify corrupted filesystem events
  4. After patching, reboot and confirm new version: uname -r should show 5.18.3 or later

FAQ

What is CVE-2022-49349?

CVE-2022-49349 is a use-after-free memory vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ext4 filesystem implementation. The flaw occurs in the ext4_rename_dir_prepare function when processing corrupted directory entries with invalid rec_len values, allowing the kernel to reference freed memory and crash or execute arbitrary code.

Is CVE-2022-49349 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2022-49349 is not listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog and no public exploits are available. However, the vulnerability is locally exploitable and poses a privilege escalation risk on multi-user systems.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2022-49349?

Linux kernel versions 5.18.0 through 5.18.2 are affected. Version 5.18.3 and all later versions include the fix.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2022-49349?

Run uname -r to check your kernel version; if it shows 5.18.0, 5.18.1, or 5.18.2, you are vulnerable. Additionally, check if ext4 filesystems are mounted with mount | grep ext4.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2022-49349?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server running versions 5.18.0-5.18.2, CVE-2022-49349 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2024-42256CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cifs: Fix server re-repick on subrequest retry When a subrequest is marked for needing retry, netfs will call cifs_prepare_write() which will make cifs repick the server for the op before renegotiating credits; it then calls cifs_issue_write() which invokes smb2_async_writev() - which re-repicks the server. If a different server is then selected, this causes the increment of server->in_flight to happen against one record and the decrement to happen against another, leading to misaccounting. Fix this by just removing the repick code in smb2_async_writev(). As this is only called from netfslib-driven code, cifs_prepare_write() should always have been called first, and so server should never be NULL and the preparatory step is repeated in the event that we do a retry. The problem manifests as a warning looking something like: WARNING: CPU: 4 PID: 72896 at fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c:97 smb2_add_credits+0x3f0/0x9e0 [cifs] ... RIP: 0010:smb2_add_credits+0x3f0/0x9e0 [cifs] ... smb2_writev_callback+0x334/0x560 [cifs] cifs_demultiplex_thread+0x77a/0x11b0 [cifs] kthread+0x187/0x1d0 ret_from_fork+0x34/0x60 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 Which may be triggered by a number of different xfstests running against an Azure server in multichannel mode. generic/249 seems the most repeatable, but generic/215, generic/249 and generic/308 may also show it.
CVE-2024-36031CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: keys: Fix overwrite of key expiration on instantiation The expiry time of a key is unconditionally overwritten during instantiation, defaulting to turn it permanent. This causes a problem for DNS resolution as the expiration set by user-space is overwritten to TIME64_MAX, disabling further DNS updates. Fix this by restoring the condition that key_set_expiry is only called when the pre-parser sets a specific expiry.
CVE-2024-38612CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: sr: fix invalid unregister error path The error path of seg6_init() is wrong in case CONFIG_IPV6_SEG6_LWTUNNEL is not defined. In that case if seg6_hmac_init() fails, the genl_unregister_family() isn't called. This issue exist since commit 46738b1317e1 ("ipv6: sr: add option to control lwtunnel support"), and commit 5559cea2d5aa ("ipv6: sr: fix possible use-after-free and null-ptr-deref") replaced unregister_pernet_subsys() with genl_unregister_family() in this error path.
CVE-2024-38623CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/ntfs3: Use variable length array instead of fixed size Should fix smatch warning: ntfs_set_label() error: __builtin_memcpy() 'uni->name' too small (20 vs 256)
CVE-2021-47548CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ethernet: hisilicon: hns: hns_dsaf_misc: fix a possible array overflow in hns_dsaf_ge_srst_by_port() The if statement: if (port >= DSAF_GE_NUM) return; limits the value of port less than DSAF_GE_NUM (i.e., 8). However, if the value of port is 6 or 7, an array overflow could occur: port_rst_off = dsaf_dev->mac_cb[port]->port_rst_off; because the length of dsaf_dev->mac_cb is DSAF_MAX_PORT_NUM (i.e., 6). To fix this possible array overflow, we first check port and if it is greater than or equal to DSAF_MAX_PORT_NUM, the function returns.

References

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