# CVE-2022-50149: driver core: fix potential deadlock in __driver_attach

> A potential deadlock in the Linux kernel driver core can cause a system hang, requiring a patch to resolve the locking issue.

- **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:** 18 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50149, GHSA-f5wr-jggw-qg46, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50149

## What is CVE-2022-50149?

CVE-2022-50149 is a medium-severity 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:

driver core: fix potential deadlock in __driver_attach

In __driver_attach function, There are also AA deadlock problem,
like the commit b232b02bf3c2 ("driver core: fix deadlock in
__device_attach").

stack like commit b232b02bf3c2 ("driver core: fix deadlock in
__device_attach").
list below:
    In __driver_attach function, The lock holding logic is as follows:
    ...
    __driver_attach
    if (driver_allows_async_probing(drv))
      device_lock(dev)      // get lock dev
        async_schedule_dev(__driver_attach_async_helper, dev); // func
          async_schedule_node
            async_schedule_node_domain(func)
              entry = kzalloc(sizeof(struct async_entry), GFP_ATOMIC);
              /* when fail or work limit, sync to execute func, but
                 __driver_attach_async_helper will get lock dev as
                 will, which will lead to A-A deadlock.  */
              if (!entry || atomic_read(&entry_count) > MAX_WORK) {
                func;
              else
                queue_work_node(node, system_unbound_wq, &entry->work)
      device_unlock(dev)

    As above show, when it is allowed to do async probes, because of
    out of memory or work limit, async work is not be allowed, to do
    sync execute instead. it will lead to A-A deadlock because of
    __driver_attach_async_helper getting lock dev.

Reproduce:
and it can be reproduce by make the condition
(if (!entry || atomic_read(&entry_count) > MAX_WORK)) untenable, like
below:

[  370.785650] "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables
this message.
[  370.787154] task:swapper/0       state:D stack:    0 pid:    1 ppid:
0 flags:0x00004000
[  370.788865] Call Trace:
[  370.789374]  <TASK>
[  370.789841]  __schedule+0x482/0x1050
[  370.790613]  schedule+0x92/0x1a0
[  370.791290]  schedule_preempt_disabled+0x2c/0x50
[  370.792256]  __mutex_lock.isra.0+0x757/0xec0
[  370.793158]  __mutex_lock_slowpath+0x1f/0x30
[  370.794079]  mutex_lock+0x50/0x60
[  370.794795]  __device_driver_lock+0x2f/0x70
[  370.795677]  ? driver_probe_device+0xd0/0xd0
[  370.796576]  __driver_attach_async_helper+0x1d/0xd0
[  370.797318]  ? driver_probe_device+0xd0/0xd0
[  370.797957]  async_schedule_node_domain+0xa5/0xc0
[  370.798652]  async_schedule_node+0x19/0x30
[  370.799243]  __driver_attach+0x246/0x290
[  370.799828]  ? driver_allows_async_probing+0xa0/0xa0
[  370.800548]  bus_for_each_dev+0x9d/0x130
[  370.801132]  driver_attach+0x22/0x30
[  370.801666]  bus_add_driver+0x290/0x340
[  370.802246]  driver_register+0x88/0x140
[  370.802817]  ? virtio_scsi_init+0x116/0x116
[  370.803425]  scsi_register_driver+0x1a/0x30
[  370.804057]  init_sd+0x184/0x226
[  370.804533]  do_one_initcall+0x71/0x3a0
[  370.805107]  kernel_init_freeable+0x39a/0x43a
[  370.805759]  ? rest_init+0x150/0x150
[  370.806283]  kernel_init+0x26/0x230
[  370.806799]  ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30

To fix the deadlock, move the async_schedule_dev outside device_lock,
as we can see, in async_schedule_node_domain, the parameter of
queue_work_node is system_unbound_wq, so it can accept concurrent
operations. which will also not change the code logic, and will
not lead to deadlock.

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50149?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50149?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50149 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50149 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-2022-50149 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50149 is a medium-severity 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-2022-50149 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-2022-50149/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50149/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50149
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50149
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50149

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50149/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
