# CVE-2022-48846: block: release rq qos structures for queue without disk

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel block layer can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service when queues lack associated disks.

- **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-2022-48846, GHSA-73j8-r39c-jxp6, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2022-48846, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-48846

## What is CVE-2022-48846?

CVE-2022-48846 is a medium-severity denial of service 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:

block: release rq qos structures for queue without disk

blkcg_init_queue() may add rq qos structures to request queue, previously
blk_cleanup_queue() calls rq_qos_exit() to release them, but commit
8e141f9eb803 ("block: drain file system I/O on del_gendisk")
moves rq_qos_exit() into del_gendisk(), so memory leak is caused
because queues may not have disk, such as un-present scsi luns, nvme
admin queue, ...

Fixes the issue by adding rq_qos_exit() to blk_cleanup_queue() back.

BTW, v5.18 won't need this patch any more since we move
blkcg_init_queue()/blkcg_exit_queue() into disk allocation/release
handler, and patches have been in for-5.18/block.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-48846?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-48846?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-48846 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-48846 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-2022-48846 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-48846 is a medium-severity denial of service 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-2022-48846 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-2022-48846/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48846/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-48846
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-48846
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-48846

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-48846/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.