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CVE Record

CVE-2022-48760: USB: core: Fix hang in usb_kill_urb by adding memory barriers

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: USB: core: Fix hang in usb_kill_urb by adding memory barriers The syzbot fuzzer has identified a bug in which processes hang waiting for usb_kill_urb() to return. It turns out the issue is not unlinking the URB; that works just fine. Rather, the problem arises when the wakeup notification that the URB has completed is not received. The reason is memory-access ordering on SMP systems. In outline form, usb_kill_urb() and __usb_hcd_giveback_urb() operating concurrently on different CPUs perform the following actions: CPU 0 CPU 1 ---------------------------- --------------------------------- usb_kill_urb(): __usb_hcd_giveback_urb(): ... ... atomic_inc(&urb->reject); atomic_dec(&urb->use_count); ... ... wait_event(usb_kill_urb_queue, atomic_read(&urb->use_count) == 0); if (atomic_read(&urb->reject)) wake_up(&usb_kill_urb_queue); Confining your attention to urb->reject and urb->use_count, you can see that the overall pattern of accesses on CPU 0 is: write urb->reject, then read urb->use_count; whereas the overall pattern of accesses on CPU 1 is: write urb->use_count, then read urb->reject. This pattern is referred to in memory-model circles as SB (for "Store Buffering"), and it is well known that without suitable enforcement of the desired order of accesses -- in the form of memory barriers -- it is entirely possible for one or both CPUs to execute their reads ahead of their writes. The end result will be that sometimes CPU 0 sees the old un-decremented value of urb->use_count while CPU 1 sees the old un-incremented value of urb->reject. Consequently CPU 0 ends up on the wait queue and never gets woken up, leading to the observed hang in usb_kill_urb(). The same pattern of accesses occurs in usb_poison_urb() and the failure pathway of usb_hcd_submit_urb(). The problem is fixed by adding suitable memory barriers. To provide proper memory-access ordering in the SB pattern, a full barrier is required on both CPUs. The atomic_inc() and atomic_dec() accesses themselves don't provide any memory ordering, but since they are present, we can use the optimized smp_mb__after_atomic() memory barrier in the various routines to obtain the desired effect. This patch adds the necessary memory barriers.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a Linux kernel USB bug that can make processes hang while waiting for USB request cleanup to finish. The source describes a race on multi-CPU systems, found by syzbot, and fixed with memory barriers. It is primarily an availability concern, not a documented data theft or privilege escalation issue.

Executive priority

Treat as a routine-to-prioritized kernel availability fix. It is not supported as actively exploited in the supplied evidence, but affected Linux systems using USB paths should be patched through standard OS maintenance windows.

Technical view

Concurrent usb_kill_urb() and __usb_hcd_giveback_urb() paths can observe stale urb->reject and urb->use_count values because atomic operations lack required ordering. The same store-buffering pattern affects usb_poison_urb() and a usb_hcd_submit_urb() failure path. Stable kernel fixes add smp_mb__after_atomic() barriers.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to systems running affected Linux kernel versions with USB core code paths in use. The bundle does not map fixes to specific distributions, appliances, or vendor kernels, so asset teams must verify their packaged kernel versions against vendor guidance.

Exploitation context

The bundle reports syzbot discovery and a kernel hang condition. It does not cite public exploitation, KEV listing, exploit availability, remote reachability, or privilege escalation. KEV is false in the supplied data.

Researcher notes

The key issue is memory ordering, not failed URB unlinking. Evidence supports a hang in usb_kill_urb() caused by missed wakeups under an SB access pattern. No CVSS, CWE, attacker prerequisites, or distro-specific affected matrix were provided.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a vendor kernel containing the referenced stable USB core fixes.
  • Prioritize endpoints, embedded Linux, appliances, and servers using USB devices.
  • Check distribution advisories for backported fixes before relying on upstream version numbers.
  • Avoid direct wrangler or unrelated deployment assumptions; this is kernel patch management.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across affected assets.
  • Confirm whether vendor kernels include the referenced stable commits or backports.
  • Review kernel logs for USB-related hangs if operational symptoms exist.
  • Track remediation through normal OS patch compliance reporting.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
11

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
2ADP providers
10Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
CVECVE Program Container
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942c, 49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942c, 49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942c, 49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942c, 49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942c, 49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942c, 49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942c, 49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942c, 49367d8f1d9f26482cf7089489e90f0afd0a942cunaffected
LinuxLinux2.6.29, 0, 4.4.302, 4.9.300, 4.14.265, 4.19.228, 5.4.176, 5.10.96, 5.15.19, 5.16.5, 5.17affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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