# CVE-2022-49379: driver core: Fix wait_for_device_probe() & deferred_probe_timeout interaction

> A race condition in the Linux kernel driver core can cause boot hangs or timeouts when using NFS rootfs with deferred probe timeouts.

- **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:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49379, GHSA-2v76-ghxq-9xvj, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49379

## What is CVE-2022-49379?

CVE-2022-49379 is a medium-severity 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:

driver core: Fix wait_for_device_probe() & deferred_probe_timeout interaction

Mounting NFS rootfs was timing out when deferred_probe_timeout was
non-zero [1].  This was because ip_auto_config() initcall times out
waiting for the network interfaces to show up when
deferred_probe_timeout was non-zero. While ip_auto_config() calls
wait_for_device_probe() to make sure any currently running deferred
probe work or asynchronous probe finishes, that wasn't sufficient to
account for devices being deferred until deferred_probe_timeout.

Commit 35a672363ab3 ("driver core: Ensure wait_for_device_probe() waits
until the deferred_probe_timeout fires") tried to fix that by making
sure wait_for_device_probe() waits for deferred_probe_timeout to expire
before returning.

However, if wait_for_device_probe() is called from the kernel_init()
context:

- Before deferred_probe_initcall() [2], it causes the boot process to
  hang due to a deadlock.

- After deferred_probe_initcall() [3], it blocks kernel_init() from
  continuing till deferred_probe_timeout expires and beats the point of
  deferred_probe_timeout that's trying to wait for userspace to load
  modules.

Neither of this is good. So revert the changes to
wait_for_device_probe().

[1] - https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/TYAPR01MB45443DF63B9EF29054F7C41FD8C60@TYAPR01MB4544.jpnprd01.prod.outlook.com/
[2] - https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/YowHNo4sBjr9ijZr@dev-arch.thelio-3990X/
[3] - https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/Yo3WvGnNk3LvLb7R@linutronix.de/

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49379?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49379?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49379 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49379 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-2022-49379 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49379 is a medium-severity 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-2022-49379 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-2022-49379/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49379/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49379
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49379
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49379

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49379/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.