# CVE-2022-50401: nfsd: under NFSv4.1, fix double svc_xprt_put on rpc_create failure

> A double free vulnerability in the Linux kernel NFS server can cause a use-after-free error, leading to a system crash or denial of service.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50401, GHSA-3854-9jq2-j856, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50401

## What is CVE-2022-50401?

CVE-2022-50401 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Sep 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

nfsd: under NFSv4.1, fix double svc_xprt_put on rpc_create failure

On error situation `clp->cl_cb_conn.cb_xprt` should not be given
a reference to the xprt otherwise both client cleanup and the
error handling path of the caller call to put it. Better to
delay handing over the reference to a later branch.

[   72.530665] refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free.
[   72.531933] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 173 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xcf/0x120
[   72.533075] Modules linked in: nfsd(OE) nfsv4(OE) nfsv3(OE) nfs(OE) lockd(OE) compat_nfs_ssc(OE) nfs_acl(OE) rpcsec_gss_krb5(OE) auth_rpcgss(OE) rpcrdma(OE) dns_resolver fscache netfs grace rdma_cm iw_cm ib_cm sunrpc(OE) mlx5_ib mlx5_core mlxfw pci_hyperv_intf ib_uverbs ib_core xt_MASQUERADE nf_conntrack_netlink nft_counter xt_addrtype nft_compat br_netfilter bridge stp llc nft_reject_inet nf_reject_ipv4 nf_reject_ipv6 nft_reject nft_ct nft_chain_nat nf_nat nf_conntrack nf_defrag_ipv6 nf_defrag_ipv4 ip_set overlay nf_tables nfnetlink crct10dif_pclmul crc32_pclmul ghash_clmulni_intel xfs serio_raw virtio_net virtio_blk net_failover failover fuse [last unloaded: sunrpc]
[   72.540389] CPU: 0 PID: 173 Comm: kworker/u16:5 Tainted: G           OE     5.15.82-dan #1
[   72.541511] Hardware name: Red Hat KVM/RHEL-AV, BIOS 1.16.0-3.module+el8.7.0+1084+97b81f61 04/01/2014
[   72.542717] Workqueue: nfsd4_callbacks nfsd4_run_cb_work [nfsd]
[   72.543575] RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0xcf/0x120
[   72.544299] Code: 55 00 0f 0b 5d e9 01 50 98 00 80 3d 75 9e 39 08 00 0f 85 74 ff ff ff 48 c7 c7 e8 d1 60 8e c6 05 61 9e 39 08 01 e8 f6 51 55 00 <0f> 0b 5d e9 d9 4f 98 00 80 3d 4b 9e 39 08 00 0f 85 4c ff ff ff 48
[   72.546666] RSP: 0018:ffffb3f841157cf0 EFLAGS: 00010286
[   72.547393] RAX: 0000000000000026 RBX: ffff89ac6231d478 RCX: 0000000000000000
[   72.548324] RDX: ffff89adb7c2c2c0 RSI: ffff89adb7c205c0 RDI: ffff89adb7c205c0
[   72.549271] RBP: ffffb3f841157cf0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: c0000000ffefffff
[   72.550209] R10: 0000000000000001 R11: ffffb3f841157ad0 R12: ffff89ac6231d180
[   72.551142] R13: ffff89ac6231d478 R14: ffff89ac40c06180 R15: ffff89ac6231d4b0
[   72.552089] FS:  0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff89adb7c00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[   72.553175] CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[   72.553934] CR2: 0000563a310506a8 CR3: 0000000109a66000 CR4: 0000000000350ef0
[   72.554874] Call Trace:
[   72.555278]  <TASK>
[   72.555614]  svc_xprt_put+0xaf/0xe0 [sunrpc]
[   72.556276]  nfsd4_process_cb_update.isra.11+0xb7/0x410 [nfsd]
[   72.557087]  ? update_load_avg+0x82/0x610
[   72.557652]  ? cpuacct_charge+0x60/0x70
[   72.558212]  ? dequeue_entity+0xdb/0x3e0
[   72.558765]  ? queued_spin_unlock+0x9/0x20
[   72.559358]  nfsd4_run_cb_work+0xfc/0x270 [nfsd]
[   72.560031]  process_one_work+0x1df/0x390
[   72.560600]  worker_thread+0x37/0x3b0
[   72.561644]  ? process_one_work+0x390/0x390
[   72.562247]  kthread+0x12f/0x150
[   72.562710]  ? set_kthread_struct+0x50/0x50
[   72.563309]  ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30
[   72.563818]  </TASK>
[   72.564189] ---[ end trace 031117b1c72ec616 ]---
[   72.566019] list_add corruption. next->prev should be prev (ffff89ac4977e538), but was ffff89ac4763e018. (next=ffff89ac4763e018).
[   72.567647] ------------[ cut here ]------------

Weakness: CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50401?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50401?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50401 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50401 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-2022-50401 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50401 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Sep 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50401 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-2022-50401/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50401/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50401
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50401
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50401

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50401/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
