# CVE-2022-49196: powerpc/pseries: Fix use after free in remove_phb_dynamic()

> A use-after-free flaw in the Linux kernel's powerpc/pseries subsystem can cause a system crash when removing a dynamic PHB.

- **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:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49196, GHSA-m3r4-hpjv-ph84, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2022-49196, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49196

## What is CVE-2022-49196?

CVE-2022-49196 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:

powerpc/pseries: Fix use after free in remove_phb_dynamic()

In remove_phb_dynamic() we use &phb->io_resource, after we've called
device_unregister(&host_bridge->dev). But the unregister may have freed
phb, because pcibios_free_controller_deferred() is the release function
for the host_bridge.

If there are no outstanding references when we call device_unregister()
then phb will be freed out from under us.

This has gone mainly unnoticed, but with slub_debug and page_poison
enabled it can lead to a crash:

  PID: 7574   TASK: c0000000d492cb80  CPU: 13  COMMAND: "drmgr"
   #0 [c0000000e4f075a0] crash_kexec at c00000000027d7dc
   #1 [c0000000e4f075d0] oops_end at c000000000029608
   #2 [c0000000e4f07650] __bad_page_fault at c0000000000904b4
   #3 [c0000000e4f076c0] do_bad_slb_fault at c00000000009a5a8
   #4 [c0000000e4f076f0] data_access_slb_common_virt at c000000000008b30
   Data SLB Access [380] exception frame:
   R0:  c000000000167250    R1:  c0000000e4f07a00    R2:  c000000002a46100
   R3:  c000000002b39ce8    R4:  00000000000000c0    R5:  00000000000000a9
   R6:  3894674d000000c0    R7:  0000000000000000    R8:  00000000000000ff
   R9:  0000000000000100    R10: 6b6b6b6b6b6b6b6b    R11: 0000000000008000
   R12: c00000000023da80    R13: c0000009ffd38b00    R14: 0000000000000000
   R15: 000000011c87f0f0    R16: 0000000000000006    R17: 0000000000000003
   R18: 0000000000000002    R19: 0000000000000004    R20: 0000000000000005
   R21: 000000011c87ede8    R22: 000000011c87c5a8    R23: 000000011c87d3a0
   R24: 0000000000000000    R25: 0000000000000001    R26: c0000000e4f07cc8
   R27: c00000004d1cc400    R28: c0080000031d00e8    R29: c00000004d23d800
   R30: c00000004d1d2400    R31: c00000004d1d2540
   NIP: c000000000167258    MSR: 8000000000009033    OR3: c000000000e9f474
   CTR: 0000000000000000    LR:  c000000000167250    XER: 0000000020040003
   CCR: 0000000024088420    MQ:  0000000000000000    DAR: 6b6b6b6b6b6b6ba3
   DSISR: c0000000e4f07920     Syscall Result: fffffffffffffff2
   [NIP  : release_resource+56]
   [LR   : release_resource+48]
   #5 [c0000000e4f07a00] release_resource at c000000000167258  (unreliable)
   #6 [c0000000e4f07a30] remove_phb_dynamic at c000000000105648
   #7 [c0000000e4f07ab0] dlpar_remove_slot at c0080000031a09e8 [rpadlpar_io]
   #8 [c0000000e4f07b50] remove_slot_store at c0080000031a0b9c [rpadlpar_io]
   #9 [c0000000e4f07be0] kobj_attr_store at c000000000817d8c
  #10 [c0000000e4f07c00] sysfs_kf_write at c00000000063e504
  #11 [c0000000e4f07c20] kernfs_fop_write_iter at c00000000063d868
  #12 [c0000000e4f07c70] new_sync_write at c00000000054339c
  #13 [c0000000e4f07d10] vfs_write at c000000000546624
  #14 [c0000000e4f07d60] ksys_write at c0000000005469f4
  #15 [c0000000e4f07db0] system_call_exception at c000000000030840
  #16 [c0000000e4f07e10] system_call_vectored_common at c00000000000c168

To avoid it, we can take a reference to the host_bridge->dev until we're
done using phb. Then when we drop the reference the phb will be freed.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49196?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49196?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49196 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49196 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-2022-49196 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49196 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-2022-49196 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-2022-49196/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49196/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49196
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49196
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49196

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49196/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
