CVE-2022-49968 ieee802154/adf7242: defer destroy_workqueue call
A race condition in the Linux kernel ADF7242 driver allows a use-after-free, potentially leading to code execution or system crash.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2022-49968?
CVE-2022-49968 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Jun 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ieee802154/adf7242: defer destroy_workqueue call
There is a possible race condition (use-after-free) like below
(FREE) | (USE) adf7242_remove | adf7242_channel cancel_delayed_work_sync | destroy_workqueue (1) | adf7242_cmd_rx | mod_delayed_work (2) |
The root cause for this race is that the upper layer (ieee802154) is unaware of this detaching event and the function adf7242_channel can be called without any checks.
To fix this, we can add a flag write at the beginning of adf7242_remove and add flag check in adf7242_channel. Or we can just defer the destructive operation like other commit 3e0588c291d6 ("hamradio: defer ax25 kfree after unregister_netdev") which let the ieee802154_unregister_hw() to handle the synchronization. This patch takes the second option.
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Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49968?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2022-49968?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2022-49968 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49968 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49968, GHSA-c2cg-7w87-rjjv, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49968.