# CVE-2022-23090: AIO credential reference count leak

> An attacker can trigger a use-after-free in the FreeBSD kernel via aio_aqueue, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Feb 2024
- **Updated:** 28 Mar 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3q8j-579q-jx44

## What is CVE-2022-23090?

CVE-2022-23090 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 15 Feb 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The aio_aqueue function, used by the lio_listio system call, fails to release a reference to a credential in an error case.

An attacker may cause the reference count to overflow, leading to a use after free (UAF).

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-23090?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Freebsd Freebsd.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-23090?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-23090 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-23090 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-23090 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Freebsd Freebsd

- [CVE-2018-17160](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-17160/): Memory corruption in FreeBSD (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2014-3954](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-3954/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-4304](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-4304/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-0226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-0226/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-0002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-0002/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-23090 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-23090 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Freebsd Freebsd, published on 15 Feb 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-23090 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Freebsd Freebsd. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23090/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23090/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-23090
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-23090
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-23090

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23090/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.