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CVE Record

CVE-2022-48937: io_uring: add a schedule point in io_add_buffers()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: add a schedule point in io_add_buffers() Looping ~65535 times doing kmalloc() calls can trigger soft lockups, especially with DEBUG features (like KASAN). [ 253.536212] watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#64 stuck for 26s! [b219417889:12575] [ 253.544433] Modules linked in: vfat fat i2c_mux_pca954x i2c_mux spidev cdc_acm xhci_pci xhci_hcd sha3_generic gq(O) [ 253.544451] CPU: 64 PID: 12575 Comm: b219417889 Tainted: G S O 5.17.0-smp-DEV #801 [ 253.544457] RIP: 0010:kernel_text_address (./include/asm-generic/sections.h:192 ./include/linux/kallsyms.h:29 kernel/extable.c:67 kernel/extable.c:98) [ 253.544464] Code: 0f 93 c0 48 c7 c1 e0 63 d7 a4 48 39 cb 0f 92 c1 20 c1 0f b6 c1 5b 5d c3 90 0f 1f 44 00 00 55 48 89 e5 41 57 41 56 53 48 89 fb <48> c7 c0 00 00 80 a0 41 be 01 00 00 00 48 39 c7 72 0c 48 c7 c0 40 [ 253.544468] RSP: 0018:ffff8882d8baf4c0 EFLAGS: 00000246 [ 253.544471] RAX: 1ffff1105b175e00 RBX: ffffffffa13ef09a RCX: 00000000a13ef001 [ 253.544474] RDX: ffffffffa13ef09a RSI: ffff8882d8baf558 RDI: ffffffffa13ef09a [ 253.544476] RBP: ffff8882d8baf4d8 R08: ffff8882d8baf5e0 R09: 0000000000000004 [ 253.544479] R10: ffff8882d8baf5e8 R11: ffffffffa0d59a50 R12: ffff8882eab20380 [ 253.544481] R13: ffffffffa0d59a50 R14: dffffc0000000000 R15: 1ffff1105b175eb0 [ 253.544483] FS: 00000000016d3380(0000) GS:ffff88af48c00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 253.544486] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 253.544488] CR2: 00000000004af0f0 CR3: 00000002eabfa004 CR4: 00000000003706e0 [ 253.544491] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [ 253.544492] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [ 253.544494] Call Trace: [ 253.544496] <TASK> [ 253.544498] ? io_queue_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:7143) [ 253.544505] __kernel_text_address (kernel/extable.c:78) [ 253.544508] unwind_get_return_address (arch/x86/kernel/unwind_frame.c:19) [ 253.544514] arch_stack_walk (arch/x86/kernel/stacktrace.c:27) [ 253.544517] ? io_queue_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:7143) [ 253.544521] stack_trace_save (kernel/stacktrace.c:123) [ 253.544527] ____kasan_kmalloc (mm/kasan/common.c:39 mm/kasan/common.c:45 mm/kasan/common.c:436 mm/kasan/common.c:515) [ 253.544531] ? ____kasan_kmalloc (mm/kasan/common.c:39 mm/kasan/common.c:45 mm/kasan/common.c:436 mm/kasan/common.c:515) [ 253.544533] ? __kasan_kmalloc (mm/kasan/common.c:524) [ 253.544535] ? kmem_cache_alloc_trace (./include/linux/kasan.h:270 mm/slab.c:3567) [ 253.544541] ? io_issue_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:4556 fs/io_uring.c:4589 fs/io_uring.c:6828) [ 253.544544] ? __io_queue_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:?) [ 253.544551] __kasan_kmalloc (mm/kasan/common.c:524) [ 253.544553] kmem_cache_alloc_trace (./include/linux/kasan.h:270 mm/slab.c:3567) [ 253.544556] ? io_issue_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:4556 fs/io_uring.c:4589 fs/io_uring.c:6828) [ 253.544560] io_issue_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:4556 fs/io_uring.c:4589 fs/io_uring.c:6828) [ 253.544564] ? __kasan_slab_alloc (mm/kasan/common.c:45 mm/kasan/common.c:436 mm/kasan/common.c:469) [ 253.544567] ? __kasan_slab_alloc (mm/kasan/common.c:39 mm/kasan/common.c:45 mm/kasan/common.c:436 mm/kasan/common.c:469) [ 253.544569] ? kmem_cache_alloc_bulk (mm/slab.h:732 mm/slab.c:3546) [ 253.544573] ? __io_alloc_req_refill (fs/io_uring.c:2078) [ 253.544578] ? io_submit_sqes (fs/io_uring.c:7441) [ 253.544581] ? __se_sys_io_uring_enter (fs/io_uring.c:10154 fs/io_uring.c:10096) [ 253.544584] ? __x64_sys_io_uring_enter (fs/io_uring.c:10096) [ 253.544587] ? do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80) [ 253.544590] ? entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (??:?) [ 253.544596] __io_queue_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:?) [ 253.544600] io_queue_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:7143) [ 253.544603] io_submit_sqe (fs/io_uring.c:?) [ 253.544608] io_submit_sqes (fs/io_uring.c:?) [ 253.544612] __se_sys_io_uring_enter (fs/io_uring.c:10154 fs/io_uri ---truncated---

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-48937 is a Linux kernel io_uring issue where a long buffer-add loop can keep a CPU busy long enough to trigger a soft lockup. The known impact is availability: affected systems may become less responsive or experience kernel watchdog lockup behavior. The sources do not show data theft, privilege escalation, or active exploitation.

Executive priority

Address during normal kernel maintenance, with higher priority for shared compute, CI runners, container hosts, or systems running untrusted local code. There is no source evidence of active exploitation, but kernel availability issues can still create business disruption on critical infrastructure.

Technical view

The fix adds a scheduling point in io_add_buffers(). The CVE record says looping about 65,535 times through kmalloc() calls can trigger soft lockups, especially with DEBUG features such as KASAN. The stack trace involves io_uring submission paths and io_uring_enter. Stable kernel commits are referenced as the remediation evidence.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems running affected kernel versions or unpatched downstream builds where io_uring is available. The provided data lists Linux 5.7 through 5.17-related affected entries, with stable fix commits. Distro kernels may have backported fixes, so version strings alone are insufficient.

Exploitation context

The bundle provides no KEV listing and no cited evidence of active exploitation. The described failure mode is a kernel soft lockup caused by repeated allocation work in io_uring buffer handling. Treat this as an availability risk until vendor advisories or local testing show broader impact.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE record and upstream stable commits. No CVSS, CWE, exploit status, or distro-specific package mapping is provided. The key behavior is a missing reschedule opportunity in a large io_add_buffers allocation loop, not a documented memory corruption primitive.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a kernel containing the referenced stable commits or vendor backports.
  • Check your Linux distribution advisory for exact fixed package versions.
  • Prioritize shared or multi-tenant hosts where untrusted local workloads run.
  • Review whether io_uring exposure can be reduced under vendor-supported hardening guidance.
  • Monitor systems for kernel watchdog soft lockup messages involving io_uring paths.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory kernel versions across Linux servers and containers hosts.
  • Compare installed kernel packages against distribution advisories and stable commit backports.
  • Review dmesg or kernel logs for watchdog soft lockup traces.
  • Confirm whether affected systems expose io_uring to untrusted local workloads.
  • Verify patched kernels include the io_add_buffers scheduling fix.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

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

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

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CVE-2022-48937 mapping review

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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
1ADP providers
5Source 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

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxddf0322db79c5984dc1a1db890f946dd19b7d6d9, ddf0322db79c5984dc1a1db890f946dd19b7d6d9, ddf0322db79c5984dc1a1db890f946dd19b7d6d9, ddf0322db79c5984dc1a1db890f946dd19b7d6d9unaffected
LinuxLinux5.7, 0, 5.10.103, 5.15.26, 5.16.12, 5.17affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.