# CVE-2022-49688: afs: Fix dynamic root getattr

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel AFS filesystem allows local attackers to cause a system crash by stat-ing a dynamic root directory.

- **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:** 23 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49688, GHSA-gq92-c2vh-pqwx, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49688

## What is CVE-2022-49688?

CVE-2022-49688 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:

afs: Fix dynamic root getattr

The recent patch to make afs_getattr consult the server didn't account
for the pseudo-inodes employed by the dynamic root-type afs superblock
not having a volume or a server to access, and thus an oops occurs if
such a directory is stat'd.

Fix this by checking to see if the vnode->volume pointer actually points
anywhere before following it in afs_getattr().

This can be tested by stat'ing a directory in /afs.  It may be
sufficient just to do "ls /afs" and the oops looks something like:

        BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000020
        ...
        RIP: 0010:afs_getattr+0x8b/0x14b
        ...
        Call Trace:
         <TASK>
         vfs_statx+0x79/0xf5
         vfs_fstatat+0x49/0x62

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49688?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49688?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49688 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49688 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-2022-49688 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49688 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-2022-49688 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-2022-49688/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49688/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49688
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49688
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49688

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49688/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.