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Mallory
Medium

Linux kernel sk_psock_get refcount bug due to sk_user_data type confusion

IdentifiersCVE-2022-49979CWE-843

CVE-2022-49979 is a Linux kernel networking flaw in the interaction between SMC fallback handling and psock lookup logic. During the SMC fallback process in connect(), the kernel may replace TCP with SMC and set clcsk->sk_user_data to reference the original SMC socket in smc_fback_replace_callbacks() so wakeups can be forwarded after fallback. Later, during shutdown(), sk_psock_get() may be called and incorrectly interpret that same sk_user_data field as a psock pointer. Because both SMC and psock reuse sk_user_data, the field can be misclassified, leading sk_psock_get() to operate on an object of the wrong type and trigger refcount corruption warnings such as refcount saturation and memory leakage. The fix introduces an explicit SK_USER_DATA_PSOCK tag bit in the PTRMASK scheme so the kernel can distinguish whether sk_user_data actually points to a psock object before taking a reference.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

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Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful triggering of the flaw can cause refcount corruption in kernel networking code, producing refcount saturation warnings and leaking kernel memory. Based on the provided information, the demonstrated impact is denial of service and kernel memory leak behavior rather than confirmed arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, reduce exposure to the affected code paths by minimizing use of configurations and workloads that exercise SMC fallback together with the affected networking/TLS psock paths. Because this is a kernel-internal type-confusion/refcount bug, no complete mitigation is provided in the supplied content; patching is the reliable mitigation.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply a Linux kernel update containing the fix for CVE-2022-49979. The upstream remediation marks psock pointers in sk_user_data with the SK_USER_DATA_PSOCK flag bit and refactors sk_user_data flag handling to safely distinguish psock objects from other users of the field such as SMC. Vendor kernel updates, including SUSE kernel security updates referenced in the provided content, include this fix.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

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EXPOSURE SURFACE

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VendorProductType
LinuxLinux Kerneloperating_system

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ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

3 sources tracked across advisories and community write-ups. News coverage will land here when it surfaces.

No news coverage yet. Advisories and community discussion only.

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Threat actor evidence

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Social activity1

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