Linux Kernel up to 5.10.153/5.15.77/6.0.7 ftrace kernel/trace/ftrace.c ftrace_shutdown use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.153/5.15.77/6.0.7. This vulnerability affects the function ftrace_shutdown of the file kernel/trace/ftrace.c of the component ftrace. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2022-49892. No exploit is available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.153/5.15.77/6.0.7. This affects the function ftrace_shutdown of the file kernel/trace/ftrace.c of the component ftrace. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ftrace: Fix use-after-free for dynamic ftrace_ops KASAN reported a use-after-free with ftrace ops [1]. It was found from vmcore that perf had registered two ops with the same content successively, both dynamic. After unregistering the second ops, a use-after-free occurred. In ftrace_shutdown(), when the second ops is unregistered, the FTRACE_UPDATE_CALLS command is not set because there is another enabled ops with the same content. Also, both ops are dynamic and the ftrace callback function is ftrace_ops_list_func, so the FTRACE_UPDATE_TRACE_FUNC command will not be set. Eventually the value of 'command' will be 0 and ftrace_shutdown() will skip the rcu synchronization. However, ftrace may be activated. When the ops is released, another CPU may be accessing the ops. Add the missing synchronization to fix this problem. [1] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in __ftrace_ops_list_func kernel/trace/ftrace.c:7020 [inline] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ftrace_ops_list_func+0x2b0/0x31c kernel/trace/ftrace.c:7049 Read of size 8 at addr ffff56551965bbc8 by task syz-executor.2/14468 CPU: 1 PID: 14468 Comm: syz-executor.2 Not tainted 5.10.0 #7 Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) Call trace: dump_backtrace+0x0/0x40c arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:132 show_stack+0x30/0x40 arch/arm64/kernel/stacktrace.c:196 __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:77 [inline] dump_stack+0x1b4/0x248 lib/dump_stack.c:118 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x28/0x48c mm/kasan/report.c:387 __kasan_report mm/kasan/report.c:547 [inline] kasan_report+0x118/0x210 mm/kasan/report.c:564 check_memory_region_inline mm/kasan/generic.c:187 [inline] __asan_load8+0x98/0xc0 mm/kasan/generic.c:253 __ftrace_ops_list_func kernel/trace/ftrace.c:7020 [inline] ftrace_ops_list_func+0x2b0/0x31c kernel/trace/ftrace.c:7049 ftrace_graph_call+0x0/0x4 __might_sleep+0x8/0x100 include/linux/perf_event.h:1170 __might_fault mm/memory.c:5183 [inline] __might_fault+0x58/0x70 mm/memory.c:5171 do_strncpy_from_user lib/strncpy_from_user.c:41 [inline] strncpy_from_user+0x1f4/0x4b0 lib/strncpy_from_user.c:139 getname_flags+0xb0/0x31c fs/namei.c:149 getname+0x2c/0x40 fs/namei.c:209 [...] Allocated by task 14445: kasan_save_stack+0x24/0x50 mm/kasan/common.c:48 kasan_set_track mm/kasan/common.c:56 [inline] __kasan_kmalloc mm/kasan/common.c:479 [inline] __kasan_kmalloc.constprop.0+0x110/0x13c mm/kasan/common.c:449 kasan_kmalloc+0xc/0x14 mm/kasan/common.c:493 kmem_cache_alloc_trace+0x440/0x924 mm/slub.c:2950 kmalloc include/linux/slab.h:563 [inline] kzalloc include/linux/slab.h:675 [inline] perf_event_alloc.part.0+0xb4/0x1350 kernel/events/core.c:11230 perf_event_alloc kernel/events/core.c:11733 [inline] __do_sys_perf_event_open kernel/events/core.c:11831 [inline] __se_sys_perf_event_open+0x550/0x15f4 kernel/events/core.c:11723 __arm64_sys_perf_event_open+0x6c/0x80 kernel/events/core.c:11723 [...] Freed by task 14445: kasan_save_stack+0x24/0x50 mm/kasan/common.c:48 kasan_set_track+0x24/0x34 mm/kasan/common.c:56 kasan_set_free_info+0x20/0x40 mm/kasan/generic.c:358 __kasan_slab_free.part.0+0x11c/0x1b0 mm/kasan/common.c:437 __kasan_slab_free mm/kasan/common.c:445 [inline] kasan_slab_free+0x2c/0x40 mm/kasan/common.c:446 slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:1569 [inline] slab_free_freelist_hook mm/slub.c:1608 [inline] slab_free mm/slub.c:3179 [inline] kfree+0x12c/0xc10 mm/slub.c:4176 perf_event_alloc.part.0+0xa0c/0x1350 kernel/events/core.c:11434 perf_event_alloc kernel/events/core.c:11733 [inline] __do_sys_perf_event_open kernel/events/core.c:11831 [inline] __se_sys_perf_event_open+0x550/0x15f4 kernel/events/core.c:11723 [...]

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2022-49892 since 05/01/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/09/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 246693 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2022-49892), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.154, 5.15.78 or 6.0.8 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch ea5f2fd4640ecbb9df969bf8bb27733ae2183169/88561a66777e7a2fe06638c6dcb22a9fae0b6733/cc1b9961a0ceb70f6ca4e2f4b8bb71c87c7a495c/0e792b89e6800cd9cb4757a76a96f7ef3e8b6294 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 Tenable (246693). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.153
• 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
• 5.15.46
• 5.15.47
• 5.15.48
• 5.15.49
• 5.15.50
• 5.15.51
• 5.15.52
• 5.15.53
• 5.15.54
• 5.15.55
• 5.15.56
• 5.15.57
• 5.15.58
• 5.15.59
• 5.15.60
• 5.15.61
• 5.15.62
• 5.15.63
• 5.15.64
• 5.15.65
• 5.15.66
• 5.15.67
• 5.15.68
• 5.15.69
• 5.15.70
• 5.15.71
• 5.15.72
• 5.15.73
• 5.15.74
• 5.15.75
• 5.15.76
• 5.15.77
• 6.0.0
• 6.0.1
• 6.0.2
• 6.0.3
• 6.0.4
• 6.0.5
• 6.0.6
• 6.0.7

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

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Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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