Linux Kernel up to 5.15.45/5.17.13/5.18.2 unregister_netdev use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.45/5.17.13/5.18.2. It has been rated as critical. The affected element is the function unregister_netdev. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2022-49501. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.15.45/5.17.13/5.18.2. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function unregister_netdev. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usbnet: Run unregister_netdev() before unbind() again Commit 2c9d6c2b871d ("usbnet: run unbind() before unregister_netdev()") sought to fix a use-after-free on disconnect of USB Ethernet adapters. It turns out that a different fix is necessary to address the issue: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/18b3541e5372bc9b9fc733d422f4e698c089077c.1650177997.git.lukas@wunner.de/ So the commit was not necessary. The commit made binding and unbinding of USB Ethernet asymmetrical: Before, usbnet_probe() first invoked the ->bind() callback and then register_netdev(). usbnet_disconnect() mirrored that by first invoking unregister_netdev() and then ->unbind(). Since the commit, the order in usbnet_disconnect() is reversed and no longer mirrors usbnet_probe(). One consequence is that a PHY disconnected (and stopped) in ->unbind() is afterwards stopped once more by unregister_netdev() as it closes the netdev before unregistering. That necessitates a contortion in ->stop() because the PHY may only be stopped if it hasn't already been disconnected. Reverting the commit allows making the call to phy_stop() unconditional in ->stop().

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2022-49501 since 02/26/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 07/18/2025).

Upgrading to version 5.15.46, 5.17.14 or 5.18.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 6d5deb242874d924beccf7eb3cef04c1c3b0da79/fbda837107f9bd4ec658d2aa88c6856dba606f06/969a1b3ea3cb7d58a16fe12fd1b04bfc0ea40509/d1408f6b4dd78fb1b9e26bcf64477984e5f85409 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2022-54728). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.0
• 5.15.1
• 5.15.2
• 5.15.3
• 5.15.4
• 5.15.5
• 5.15.6
• 5.15.7
• 5.15.8
• 5.15.9
• 5.15.10
• 5.15.11
• 5.15.12
• 5.15.13
• 5.15.14
• 5.15.15
• 5.15.16
• 5.15.17
• 5.15.18
• 5.15.19
• 5.15.20
• 5.15.21
• 5.15.22
• 5.15.23
• 5.15.24
• 5.15.25
• 5.15.26
• 5.15.27
• 5.15.28
• 5.15.29
• 5.15.30
• 5.15.31
• 5.15.32
• 5.15.33
• 5.15.34
• 5.15.35
• 5.15.36
• 5.15.37
• 5.15.38
• 5.15.39
• 5.15.40
• 5.15.41
• 5.15.42
• 5.15.43
• 5.15.44
• 5.15.45
• 5.17.0
• 5.17.1
• 5.17.2
• 5.17.3
• 5.17.4
• 5.17.5
• 5.17.6
• 5.17.7
• 5.17.8
• 5.17.9
• 5.17.10
• 5.17.11
• 5.17.12
• 5.17.13
• 5.18.0
• 5.18.1
• 5.18.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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CVSSv4info

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CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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