high CVSS 7.1

CVE-2022-49401·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/page_owner: use strscpy() instead of strlcpy() current->comm[] is not a string (no guarantee for a zero byte in it). strlcpy(s1, s2, l) is calling strlen(s2), potentially causing out-of-bound access, as reported by syzbot: detected buffer overflow in __fortify_strlen ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at lib/string_helpers.c:980! invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN CPU: 0 PID: 4087 Comm: dhcpcd-run-hooks Not tainted 5.18.0-rc3-syzkaller-01537-g20b87e7c29df #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 01/01/2011 RIP: 0010:fortify_panic+0x18/0x1a lib/string_helpers.c:980 Code: 8c e8 c5 ba e1 fa e9 23 0f bf fa e8 0b 5d 8c f8 eb db 55 48 89 fd e8 e0 49 40 f8 48 89 ee 48 c7 c7 80 f5 26 8a e8 99 09 f1 ff <0f> 0b e8 ca 49 40 f8 48 8b 54 24 18 4c 89 f1 48 c7 c7 00 00 27 8a RSP: 0018:ffffc900000074a8 EFLAGS: 00010286 RAX: 000000000000002c RBX: ffff88801226b728 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: ffff8880198e0000 RSI: ffffffff81600458 RDI: fffff52000000e87 RBP: ffffffff89da2aa0 R08: 000000000000002c R09: 0000000000000000 R10: ffffffff815fae2e R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff88801226b700 R13: ffff8880198e0830 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8880b9c00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f5876ad6ff8 CR3: 000000001a48c000 CR4: 00000000003506f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000600 Call Trace: <IRQ> __fortify_strlen include/linux/fortify-string.h:128 [inline] strlcpy include/linux/fortify-string.h:143 [inline] __set_page_owner_handle+0x2b1/0x3e0 mm/page_owner.c:171 __set_page_owner+0x3e/0x50 mm/page_owner.c:190 prep_new_page mm/page_alloc.c:2441 [inline] get_page_from_freelist+0xba2/0x3e00 mm/page_alloc.c:4182 __alloc_pages+0x1b2/0x500 mm/page_alloc.c:5408 alloc_pages+0x1aa/0x310 mm/mempolicy.c:2272 alloc_slab_page mm/slub.c:1799 [inline] allocate_slab+0x26c/0x3c0 mm/slub.c:1944 new_slab mm/slub.c:2004 [inline] ___slab_alloc+0x8df/0xf20 mm/slub.c:3005 __slab_alloc.constprop.0+0x4d/0xa0 mm/slub.c:3092 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3183 [inline] slab_alloc mm/slub.c:3225 [inline] __kmem_cache_alloc_lru mm/slub.c:3232 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc+0x360/0x3b0 mm/slub.c:3242 dst_alloc+0x146/0x1f0 net/core/dst.c:92

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 resolve this memory safety issue in the page_owner subsystem. The vulnerability stems from unsafe string handling that can trigger buffer overflow detection when copying uninitialized process names. Applying this patch prevents kernel crashes and potential privilege escalation from unprivileged local users.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Step 1: Check your kernel version with `uname -r` and verify if it falls within 5.18.0 to 5.18.2
  2. Step 2: Confirm page_owner debugging feature is enabled by checking `cat /proc/cmdline | grep page_owner` or `grep CONFIG_PAGE_OWNER /boot/config-$(uname -r)`
  3. Step 3: Search kernel logs for fortify_strlen or buffer overflow panics using `dmesg | grep -i 'fortify\|buffer overflow\|__set_page_owner'`
  4. Step 4: After patching, verify the new kernel version with `uname -r` and confirm it shows 5.18.3 or later

FAQ

What is CVE-2022-49401?

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's page_owner memory tracking feature where an unsafe string copy function could read past buffer boundaries when processing process task names that lack null terminators, causing kernel panics via fortify string checking.

Is CVE-2022-49401 being actively exploited?

No, this vulnerability is not listed on the CISA KEV catalog and no public exploits are available. However, it can be triggered locally by unprivileged users to cause denial of service.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2022-49401?

Linux kernel versions 5.18.0 through 5.18.2 are affected. The fix was merged in version 5.18.3.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2022-49401?

Run `uname -r` to check your kernel version. If it shows 5.18.0, 5.18.1, or 5.18.2, your system is vulnerable. Also verify page_owner is enabled with `grep CONFIG_PAGE_OWNER /boot/config-$(uname -r)` — it must be set to 'y'.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2022-49401?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2022-49401 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-100075CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/srpt: Fix srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() unwind counters When srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() fails partway through a multi-buffer indirect descriptor, the unwind path destroys RDMA contexts but leaves stale n_rw_ctx and n_rdma values (and a dangling rw_ctxs pointer). Later sq_wr_avail accounting in srpt_queue_response() or srpt_write_pending() can then subtract the wrong number of send queue credits. Reset the counters and clear rw_ctxs after freeing the heap allocation before returning an error.
CVE-2026-64397CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: serialize QUERY_DIRECTORY requests per file smb2_query_dir() stores a pointer to its stack-allocated private data in the ksmbd_file readdir_data. Concurrent QUERY_DIRECTORY requests using the same file handle can overwrite this pointer while an iterate_dir() callback is still using it, resulting in a stack use-after-free. Add a per-file mutex and hold it while accessing the shared directory enumeration state. The lock covers scan restart, dot entry state, readdir_data setup and iteration, and response construction. This prevents another request from replacing readdir_data.private before the current request has finished using it and also serializes the shared file position.
CVE-2026-64399CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: add permission checks for FSCTL_DUPLICATE_EXTENTS_TO_FILE The FSCTL_DUPLICATE_EXTENTS_TO_FILE arm of smb2_ioctl() overwrites the destination file's data via vfs_clone_file_range() with neither the share-level KSMBD_TREE_CONN_FLAG_WRITABLE check nor a per-handle fp->daccess check that the other write-bearing arms carry. A client can overwrite destination data on a read-only share, or from a handle opened with only FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES (which still yields an FMODE_WRITE filp). FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES-only destination handle overwrote the file's data via the clone. Add both checks, matching the FSCTL_SET_SPARSE permission fix; require FILE_WRITE_DATA since this writes data.
CVE-2026-64066CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Fix netfs_read_to_pagecache() to pause on subreq failure Fix netfs_read_to_pagecache() so that it pauses the generation of new subrequests if an already-issued subrequest fails.
CVE-2026-52924CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: purge outqueue on stale COOKIE-ECHO handling sctp_stream_update() is only invoked when the association is moved into COOKIE_WAIT during association setup/reconfiguration. In this path, the outbound stream scheduler state (stream->out_curr) is expected to be clean, since no user data should have been transmitted yet unless the state machine has already partially progressed. However, a corner case exists in sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(): when a Stale Cookie ERROR is received, the association is rolled back from COOKIE_ECHOED to COOKIE_WAIT. In this scenario, user data may already have been queued and even bundled with the COOKIE-ECHO chunk. During the rollback, sctp_stream_update() frees the old stream table and installs a new one, but it does not invalidate stream->out_curr. As a result, out_curr may still point to a freed sctp_stream_out entry from the previous stream state. Later, SCTP scheduler dequeue paths (FCFS, RR, PRIO, etc.) rely on stream->out_curr->ext, which can lead to use-after-free once the old stream state has been released via sctp_stream_free(). This results in crashes such as (reported by Yuqi): BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 Read of size 8 at addr ff1100004d4d3208 by task mini_poc/9312 CPU: 1 UID: 1001 PID: 9312 Comm: mini_poc Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-00305-gbd3a4795d574 #5 PREEMPT(full) sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 sctp_outq_flush+0x1603/0x33e0 sctp_do_sm+0x31c9/0x5d30 sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x392/0x6f0 sctp_inq_push+0x1db/0x270 sctp_rcv+0x138d/0x3c10 Fix this by fully purging the association outqueue when handling the Stale Cookie case. This ensures all pending transmit and retransmit state is dropped, and any scheduler cached pointers are invalidated, making it safe to rebuild stream state during COOKIE_WAIT restart. Updating only stream->out_curr would be insufficient, since queued and retransmittable data would still reference the old stream state and trigger later use-after-free in dequeue paths.

References

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