# CVE-2022-48838: usb: gadget: Fix use-after-free bug by not setting udc->dev.driver

> A race condition in the Linux kernel USB gadget core causes a use-after-free, potentially leading to system crashes or arbitrary code execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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:** 16 Jul 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-48838, GHSA-697g-g69g-85cq, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-48838

## What is CVE-2022-48838?

CVE-2022-48838 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 16 Jul 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

usb: gadget: Fix use-after-free bug by not setting udc->dev.driver

The syzbot fuzzer found a use-after-free bug:

BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in dev_uevent+0x712/0x780 drivers/base/core.c:2320
Read of size 8 at addr ffff88802b934098 by task udevd/3689

CPU: 2 PID: 3689 Comm: udevd Not tainted 5.17.0-rc4-syzkaller-00229-g4f12b742eb2b #0
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.14.0-2 04/01/2014
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline]
 dump_stack_lvl+0xcd/0x134 lib/dump_stack.c:106
 print_address_description.constprop.0.cold+0x8d/0x303 mm/kasan/report.c:255
 __kasan_report mm/kasan/report.c:442 [inline]
 kasan_report.cold+0x83/0xdf mm/kasan/report.c:459
 dev_uevent+0x712/0x780 drivers/base/core.c:2320
 uevent_show+0x1b8/0x380 drivers/base/core.c:2391
 dev_attr_show+0x4b/0x90 drivers/base/core.c:2094

Although the bug manifested in the driver core, the real cause was a
race with the gadget core.  dev_uevent() does:

	if (dev->driver)
		add_uevent_var(env, "DRIVER=%s", dev->driver->name);

and between the test and the dereference of dev->driver, the gadget
core sets dev->driver to NULL.

The race wouldn't occur if the gadget core registered its devices on
a real bus, using the standard synchronization techniques of the
driver core.  However, it's not necessary to make such a large change
in order to fix this bug; all we need to do is make sure that
udc->dev.driver is always NULL.

In fact, there is no reason for udc->dev.driver ever to be set to
anything, let alone to the value it currently gets: the address of the
gadget's driver.  After all, a gadget driver only knows how to manage
a gadget, not how to manage a UDC.

This patch simply removes the statements in the gadget core that touch
udc->dev.driver.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-48838?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-48838?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-48838 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-48838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-48838 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-48838 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 16 Jul 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-2022-48838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2022-48838/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48838/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48838
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48838
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-48838

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48838/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.