# CVE-2022-50476: ntb_netdev: Use dev_kfree_skb_any() in interrupt context

> A bug in the Linux kernel NTB network driver causes kernel warnings and poor network performance on AMD systems due to unsafe memory freeing in interrupt context.

- **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:** 4 Oct 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50476, GHSA-gh9q-398w-69gx, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50476

## What is CVE-2022-50476?

CVE-2022-50476 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Oct 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:

ntb_netdev: Use dev_kfree_skb_any() in interrupt context

TX/RX callback handlers (ntb_netdev_tx_handler(),
ntb_netdev_rx_handler()) can be called in interrupt
context via the DMA framework when the respective
DMA operations have completed. As such, any calls
by these routines to free skb's, should use the
interrupt context safe dev_kfree_skb_any() function.

Previously, these callback handlers would call the
interrupt unsafe version of dev_kfree_skb(). This has
not presented an issue on Intel IOAT DMA engines as
that driver utilizes tasklets rather than a hard
interrupt handler, like the AMD PTDMA DMA driver.
On AMD systems, a kernel WARNING message is
encountered, which is being issued from
skb_release_head_state() due to in_hardirq()
being true.

Besides the user visible WARNING from the kernel,
the other symptom of this bug was that TCP/IP performance
across the ntb_netdev interface was very poor, i.e.
approximately an order of magnitude below what was
expected. With the repair to use dev_kfree_skb_any(),
kernel WARNINGs from skb_release_head_state() ceased
and TCP/IP performance, as measured by iperf, was on
par with expected results, approximately 20 Gb/s on
AMD Milan based server. Note that this performance
is comparable with Intel based servers.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50476?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50476?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50476 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50476 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-2022-50476 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50476 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Oct 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-2022-50476 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-2022-50476/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50476/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50476
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50476
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50476

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50476/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.