Linux Kernel up to 6.0.2 ftrace ftrace-direct-modify.ko direct_mutex deadlock

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.0.2 and classified as critical. This affects the function direct_mutex in the library ftrace-direct-modify.ko of the component ftrace. Executing a manipulation can lead to deadlock. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2022-50648. There is not any exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.0.2. It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects the function direct_mutex in the library ftrace-direct-modify.ko of the component ftrace. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a deadlock vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-833. The product contains multiple threads or executable segments that are waiting for each other to release a necessary lock, resulting in deadlock. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ftrace: Fix recursive locking direct_mutex in ftrace_modify_direct_caller Naveen reported recursive locking of direct_mutex with sample ftrace-direct-modify.ko: [ 74.762406] WARNING: possible recursive locking detected [ 74.762887] 6.0.0-rc6+ #33 Not tainted [ 74.763216] -------------------------------------------- [ 74.763672] event-sample-fn/1084 is trying to acquire lock: [ 74.764152] ffffffff86c9d6b0 (direct_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: \ register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.764922] [ 74.764922] but task is already holding lock: [ 74.765421] ffffffff86c9d6b0 (direct_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: \ modify_ftrace_direct+0x34/0x1f0 [ 74.766142] [ 74.766142] other info that might help us debug this: [ 74.766701] Possible unsafe locking scenario: [ 74.766701] [ 74.767216] CPU0 [ 74.767437] ---- [ 74.767656] lock(direct_mutex); [ 74.767952] lock(direct_mutex); [ 74.768245] [ 74.768245] *** DEADLOCK *** [ 74.768245] [ 74.768750] May be due to missing lock nesting notation [ 74.768750] [ 74.769332] 1 lock held by event-sample-fn/1084: [ 74.769731] #0: ffffffff86c9d6b0 (direct_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: \ modify_ftrace_direct+0x34/0x1f0 [ 74.770496] [ 74.770496] stack backtrace: [ 74.770884] CPU: 4 PID: 1084 Comm: event-sample-fn Not tainted ... [ 74.771498] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), ... [ 74.772474] Call Trace: [ 74.772696] <TASK> [ 74.772896] dump_stack_lvl+0x44/0x5b [ 74.773223] __lock_acquire.cold.74+0xac/0x2b7 [ 74.773616] lock_acquire+0xd2/0x310 [ 74.773936] ? register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.774357] ? lock_is_held_type+0xd8/0x130 [ 74.774744] ? my_tramp2+0x11/0x11 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.775213] __mutex_lock+0x99/0x1010 [ 74.775536] ? register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.775954] ? slab_free_freelist_hook.isra.43+0x115/0x160 [ 74.776424] ? ftrace_set_hash+0x195/0x220 [ 74.776779] ? register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.777194] ? kfree+0x3e1/0x440 [ 74.777482] ? my_tramp2+0x11/0x11 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.777941] ? __schedule+0xb40/0xb40 [ 74.778258] ? register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.778672] ? my_tramp1+0xf/0xf [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.779128] register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.779527] ? ftrace_set_filter_ip+0x33/0x70 [ 74.779910] ? __schedule+0xb40/0xb40 [ 74.780231] ? my_tramp1+0xf/0xf [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.780678] ? my_tramp2+0x11/0x11 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.781147] ftrace_modify_direct_caller+0x5b/0x90 [ 74.781563] ? 0xffffffffa0201000 [ 74.781859] ? my_tramp1+0xf/0xf [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.782309] modify_ftrace_direct+0x1b2/0x1f0 [ 74.782690] ? __schedule+0xb40/0xb40 [ 74.783014] ? simple_thread+0x2a/0xb0 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.783508] ? __schedule+0xb40/0xb40 [ 74.783832] ? my_tramp2+0x11/0x11 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.784294] simple_thread+0x76/0xb0 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.784766] kthread+0xf5/0x120 [ 74.785052] ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20 [ 74.785464] ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 [ 74.785781] </TASK> Fix this by using register_ftrace_function_nolock in ftrace_modify_direct_caller.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2022-50648 since 12/09/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 278093 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2022-50648), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.0.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 2482eacb685b6500e158268befbe6c90de5f166a/9d2ce78ddcee159eb6a97449e9c68b6d60b9cec4 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 databases at Tenable (278093) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2765). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.0.0
• 6.0.1
• 6.0.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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