# CVE-2022-3303: Race condition in Linux kernel

> A privileged local user can crash the system via a race condition in the Linux kernel sound subsystem, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 27 Sep 2022
- **Updated:** 14 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-11048, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-3303, GHSA-833h-m63r-586v, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-3303

## What is CVE-2022-3303?

CVE-2022-3303 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 27 Sep 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A race condition flaw was found in the Linux kernel sound subsystem due to improper locking. It could lead to a NULL pointer dereference while handling the SNDCTL_DSP_SYNC ioctl. A privileged local user (root or member of the audio group) could use this flaw to crash the system, resulting in a denial of service condition

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization), CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-3303?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-3303?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-3303 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-3303 exists.

## 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-2022-3303 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-3303 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 27 Sep 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-3303 exists.

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-2022-3303/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3303/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-3303
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-3303
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-3303

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3303/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.