# CVE-2022-49059: nfc: nci: add flush_workqueue to prevent uaf

> A race condition in the Linux kernel NFC subsystem allows attackers to trigger a use-after-free, potentially causing system crashes or arbitrary code execution.

- **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:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49059, GHSA-p967-4mgh-r94w, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49059

## What is CVE-2022-49059?

CVE-2022-49059 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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:

nfc: nci: add flush_workqueue to prevent uaf

Our detector found a concurrent use-after-free bug when detaching an
NCI device. The main reason for this bug is the unexpected scheduling
between the used delayed mechanism (timer and workqueue).

The race can be demonstrated below:

Thread-1                           Thread-2
                                 | nci_dev_up()
                                 |   nci_open_device()
                                 |     __nci_request(nci_reset_req)
                                 |       nci_send_cmd
                                 |         queue_work(cmd_work)
nci_unregister_device()          |
  nci_close_device()             | ...
    del_timer_sync(cmd_timer)[1] |
...                              | Worker
nci_free_device()                | nci_cmd_work()
  kfree(ndev)[3]                 |   mod_timer(cmd_timer)[2]

In short, the cleanup routine thought that the cmd_timer has already
been detached by [1] but the mod_timer can re-attach the timer [2], even
it is already released [3], resulting in UAF.

This UAF is easy to trigger, crash trace by POC is like below

[   66.703713] ==================================================================
[   66.703974] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in enqueue_timer+0x448/0x490
[   66.703974] Write of size 8 at addr ffff888009fb7058 by task kworker/u4:1/33
[   66.703974]
[   66.703974] CPU: 1 PID: 33 Comm: kworker/u4:1 Not tainted 5.18.0-rc2 #5
[   66.703974] Workqueue: nfc2_nci_cmd_wq nci_cmd_work
[   66.703974] Call Trace:
[   66.703974]  <TASK>
[   66.703974]  dump_stack_lvl+0x57/0x7d
[   66.703974]  print_report.cold+0x5e/0x5db
[   66.703974]  ? enqueue_timer+0x448/0x490
[   66.703974]  kasan_report+0xbe/0x1c0
[   66.703974]  ? enqueue_timer+0x448/0x490
[   66.703974]  enqueue_timer+0x448/0x490
[   66.703974]  __mod_timer+0x5e6/0xb80
[   66.703974]  ? mark_held_locks+0x9e/0xe0
[   66.703974]  ? try_to_del_timer_sync+0xf0/0xf0
[   66.703974]  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x17b/0x410
[   66.703974]  ? queue_work_on+0x61/0x80
[   66.703974]  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0xbf/0x130
[   66.703974]  process_one_work+0x8bb/0x1510
[   66.703974]  ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x410/0x410
[   66.703974]  ? pwq_dec_nr_in_flight+0x230/0x230
[   66.703974]  ? rwlock_bug.part.0+0x90/0x90
[   66.703974]  ? _raw_spin_lock_irq+0x41/0x50
[   66.703974]  worker_thread+0x575/0x1190
[   66.703974]  ? process_one_work+0x1510/0x1510
[   66.703974]  kthread+0x2a0/0x340
[   66.703974]  ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20
[   66.703974]  ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30
[   66.703974]  </TASK>
[   66.703974]
[   66.703974] Allocated by task 267:
[   66.703974]  kasan_save_stack+0x1e/0x40
[   66.703974]  __kasan_kmalloc+0x81/0xa0
[   66.703974]  nci_allocate_device+0xd3/0x390
[   66.703974]  nfcmrvl_nci_register_dev+0x183/0x2c0
[   66.703974]  nfcmrvl_nci_uart_open+0xf2/0x1dd
[   66.703974]  nci_uart_tty_ioctl+0x2c3/0x4a0
[   66.703974]  tty_ioctl+0x764/0x1310
[   66.703974]  __x64_sys_ioctl+0x122/0x190
[   66.703974]  do_syscall_64+0x3b/0x90
[   66.703974]  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
[   66.703974]
[   66.703974] Freed by task 406:
[   66.703974]  kasan_save_stack+0x1e/0x40
[   66.703974]  kasan_set_track+0x21/0x30
[   66.703974]  kasan_set_free_info+0x20/0x30
[   66.703974]  __kasan_slab_free+0x108/0x170
[   66.703974]  kfree+0xb0/0x330
[   66.703974]  nfcmrvl_nci_unregister_dev+0x90/0xd0
[   66.703974]  nci_uart_tty_close+0xdf/0x180
[   66.703974]  tty_ldisc_kill+0x73/0x110
[   66.703974]  tty_ldisc_hangup+0x281/0x5b0
[   66.703974]  __tty_hangup.part.0+0x431/0x890
[   66.703974]  tty_release+0x3a8/0xc80
[   66.703974]  __fput+0x1f0/0x8c0
[   66.703974]  task_work_run+0xc9/0x170
[   66.703974]  exit_to_user_mode_prepare+0x194/0x1a0
[   66.703974]  syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x19/0x50
[   66.703974]  do_syscall_64+0x48/0x90
[   66.703974]  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0x
---truncated---

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49059?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49059?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49059 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49059 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-2022-49059 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49059 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. 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-2022-49059 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-2022-49059/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49059/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49059
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49059
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49059

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49059/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
