# CVE-2022-32250: Use after free in n/a

> A local user can escalate privileges to root via a use-after-free in the Linux kernel netfilter API.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 2 Jun 2022
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-9879, CVE-2022-1966, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-32250, GHSA-rv6g-4442-j26r, RHSA-2022:5641, RHSA-2022:5648, RHSA-2022:5802, RHSA-2022:5804, RHSA-2022:5805, RHSA-2022:5839, RHSA-2022:6073, RHSA-2022:6075, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-32250

## What is CVE-2022-32250?

CVE-2022-32250 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 2 Jun 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c in the Linux kernel through 5.18.1 allows a local user (able to create user/net namespaces) to escalate privileges to root because an incorrect NFT_STATEFUL_EXPR check leads to a use-after-free.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-32250?

It affects 8 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_13_1` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-1.el8_6 |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_13_1-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-1.el8_6 |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_13_1-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-1.el8_6 |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_16_1` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-1.el8_6 |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_16_1-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-1.el8_6 |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_16_1-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-1.el8_6 |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_9_1` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-2.el8 |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_9_1-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-2.el8 |
| `kpatch-patch-4_18_0-372_9_1-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos | All versions | 0:1-2.el8 |
| `kernel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-abi-whitelists` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-doc` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-tools` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-tools-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-tools-libs` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `kernel-tools-libs-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `perf` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `perf-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `python-perf` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `python-perf-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-693.104.1.el7 |
| `bpftool` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-abi-whitelists` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debug` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debug-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debug-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-doc` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-tools` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-tools-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-tools-libs` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |
| `kernel-tools-libs-devel` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.6::server | All versions | 0:3.10.0-957.95.1.el7 |

Products: Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Linux kernel, Netapp H300s Firmware, Netapp H410c Firmware, Netapp H410s Firmware, Netapp H500s Firmware, Netapp H700s Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-32250?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-32250 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-32250 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/theori-io/CVE-2022-32250-exploit (github_poc): https://github.com/theori-io/CVE-2022-32250-exploit
- LPE PoC of a user-after-free vulnerability in the Linux netfilter subsystem. (github_poc): https://github.com/ysanatomic/CVE-2022-32250-LPE
- https://github.com/seadragnol/CVE-2022-32250 (github_poc): https://github.com/seadragnol/CVE-2022-32250
- CVE-2022-32250-LPE (github_poc): https://github.com/Decstor5/2022-32250LPE
- My exploit for CVE-2022-32250 for linux kernel 5.18 (github_poc): https://github.com/Kristal-g/CVE-2022-32250
- Reproduce CVE-2022-32250 and CVE-2025-21756 by tampering with modprobe_path and hijacking control flow, respectively. (github_poc): https://github.com/KuanKuanQAQ/cve-testing

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-32250 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-32250 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 2 Jun 2022. 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-2022-32250 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2022-32250/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-32250/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-32250
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-32250
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-32250

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-32250/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.