# CVE-2022-50648: ftrace: Fix recursive locking direct_mutex in ftrace_modify_direct_caller > A recursive locking bug in the Linux kernel ftrace subsystem can cause a deadlock, leading to a local denial of service. - **Severity:** Not scored - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** An administrator - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 9 Dec 2025 - **Updated:** 11 May 2026 - **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50648, GHSA-qjqh-pmxv-4qmf, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50648 ## What is CVE-2022-50648? CVE-2022-50648 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 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: ftrace: Fix recursive locking direct_mutex in ftrace_modify_direct_caller Naveen reported recursive locking of direct_mutex with sample ftrace-direct-modify.ko: [ 74.762406] WARNING: possible recursive locking detected [ 74.762887] 6.0.0-rc6+ #33 Not tainted [ 74.763216] -------------------------------------------- [ 74.763672] event-sample-fn/1084 is trying to acquire lock: [ 74.764152] ffffffff86c9d6b0 (direct_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: \ register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.764922] [ 74.764922] but task is already holding lock: [ 74.765421] ffffffff86c9d6b0 (direct_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: \ modify_ftrace_direct+0x34/0x1f0 [ 74.766142] [ 74.766142] other info that might help us debug this: [ 74.766701] Possible unsafe locking scenario: [ 74.766701] [ 74.767216] CPU0 [ 74.767437] ---- [ 74.767656] lock(direct_mutex); [ 74.767952] lock(direct_mutex); [ 74.768245] [ 74.768245] *** DEADLOCK *** [ 74.768245] [ 74.768750] May be due to missing lock nesting notation [ 74.768750] [ 74.769332] 1 lock held by event-sample-fn/1084: [ 74.769731] #0: ffffffff86c9d6b0 (direct_mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: \ modify_ftrace_direct+0x34/0x1f0 [ 74.770496] [ 74.770496] stack backtrace: [ 74.770884] CPU: 4 PID: 1084 Comm: event-sample-fn Not tainted ... [ 74.771498] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), ... [ 74.772474] Call Trace: [ 74.772696] [ 74.772896] dump_stack_lvl+0x44/0x5b [ 74.773223] __lock_acquire.cold.74+0xac/0x2b7 [ 74.773616] lock_acquire+0xd2/0x310 [ 74.773936] ? register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.774357] ? lock_is_held_type+0xd8/0x130 [ 74.774744] ? my_tramp2+0x11/0x11 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.775213] __mutex_lock+0x99/0x1010 [ 74.775536] ? register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.775954] ? slab_free_freelist_hook.isra.43+0x115/0x160 [ 74.776424] ? ftrace_set_hash+0x195/0x220 [ 74.776779] ? register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.777194] ? kfree+0x3e1/0x440 [ 74.777482] ? my_tramp2+0x11/0x11 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.777941] ? __schedule+0xb40/0xb40 [ 74.778258] ? register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.778672] ? my_tramp1+0xf/0xf [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.779128] register_ftrace_function+0x1f/0x180 [ 74.779527] ? ftrace_set_filter_ip+0x33/0x70 [ 74.779910] ? __schedule+0xb40/0xb40 [ 74.780231] ? my_tramp1+0xf/0xf [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.780678] ? my_tramp2+0x11/0x11 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.781147] ftrace_modify_direct_caller+0x5b/0x90 [ 74.781563] ? 0xffffffffa0201000 [ 74.781859] ? my_tramp1+0xf/0xf [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.782309] modify_ftrace_direct+0x1b2/0x1f0 [ 74.782690] ? __schedule+0xb40/0xb40 [ 74.783014] ? simple_thread+0x2a/0xb0 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.783508] ? __schedule+0xb40/0xb40 [ 74.783832] ? my_tramp2+0x11/0x11 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.784294] simple_thread+0x76/0xb0 [ftrace_direct_modify] [ 74.784766] kthread+0xf5/0x120 [ 74.785052] ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20 [ 74.785464] ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 [ 74.785781] Fix this by using register_ftrace_function_nolock in ftrace_modify_direct_caller. ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50648? ## How do I fix CVE-2022-50648? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2022-50648 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50648 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2022-50648 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2022-50648 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 9 Dec 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-2022-50648 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Linux. 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-2022-50648/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50648/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50648 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50648 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50648 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50648/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.