# CVE-2022-49990: s390: fix double free of GS and RI CBs on fork() failure

> A double free vulnerability in the Linux kernel s390 architecture allows local attackers to cause a system crash via fork() failure.

- **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:** 18 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49990, GHSA-8px8-fjv5-9vgx, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49990

## What is CVE-2022-49990?

CVE-2022-49990 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, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

s390: fix double free of GS and RI CBs on fork() failure

The pointers for guarded storage and runtime instrumentation control
blocks are stored in the thread_struct of the associated task. These
pointers are initially copied on fork() via arch_dup_task_struct()
and then cleared via copy_thread() before fork() returns. If fork()
happens to fail after the initial task dup and before copy_thread(),
the newly allocated task and associated thread_struct memory are
freed via free_task() -> arch_release_task_struct(). This results in
a double free of the guarded storage and runtime info structs
because the fields in the failed task still refer to memory
associated with the source task.

This problem can manifest as a BUG_ON() in set_freepointer() (with
CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_HARDENED enabled) or KASAN splat (if enabled)
when running trinity syscall fuzz tests on s390x. To avoid this
problem, clear the associated pointer fields in
arch_dup_task_struct() immediately after the new task is copied.
Note that the RI flag is still cleared in copy_thread() because it
resides in thread stack memory and that is where stack info is
copied.

Weakness: CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49990?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49990?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49990 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49990 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-2022-49990 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49990 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, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49990 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-2022-49990/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49990/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49990
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49990
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49990

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49990/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.