CVE-2022-49778 arm64/mm: fix incorrect file_map_count for non-leaf pmd/pud
A bug in the Linux kernel arm64 memory management causes a kernel panic when collapsing huge pages, leading to a denial of service.
- 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
What is CVE-2022-49778?
CVE-2022-49778 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 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:
arm64/mm: fix incorrect file_map_count for non-leaf pmd/pud
The page table check trigger BUG_ON() unexpectedly when collapse hugepage:
------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at mm/page_table_check.c:82! Internal error: Oops - BUG: 00000000f2000800 [#1] SMP Dumping ftrace buffer: (ftrace buffer empty) Modules linked in: CPU: 6 PID: 68 Comm: khugepaged Not tainted 6.1.0-rc3+ #750 Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT) pstate: 60000005 (nZCv daif -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : page_table_check_clear.isra.0+0x258/0x3f0 lr : page_table_check_clear.isra.0+0x240/0x3f0 [...] Call trace: page_table_check_clear.isra.0+0x258/0x3f0 __page_table_check_pmd_clear+0xbc/0x108 pmdp_collapse_flush+0xb0/0x160 collapse_huge_page+0xa08/0x1080 hpage_collapse_scan_pmd+0xf30/0x1590 khugepaged_scan_mm_slot.constprop.0+0x52c/0xac8 khugepaged+0x338/0x518 kthread+0x278/0x2f8 ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 [...]
Since pmd_user_accessible_page() doesn't check if a pmd is leaf, it decrease file_map_count for a non-leaf pmd comes from collapse_huge_page(). and so trigger BUG_ON() unexpectedly.
Fix this problem by using pmd_leaf() insteal of pmd_present() in pmd_user_accessible_page(). Moreover, use pud_leaf() for pud_user_accessible_page() too.
Weakness: CWE-617
Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49778?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2022-49778?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2022-49778 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49778 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49778, GHSA-54j7-px5q-9wrr, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49778.