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CVE Record

CVE-2022-49006: tracing: Free buffers when a used dynamic event is removed

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Free buffers when a used dynamic event is removed After 65536 dynamic events have been added and removed, the "type" field of the event then uses the first type number that is available (not currently used by other events). A type number is the identifier of the binary blobs in the tracing ring buffer (known as events) to map them to logic that can parse the binary blob. The issue is that if a dynamic event (like a kprobe event) is traced and is in the ring buffer, and then that event is removed (because it is dynamic, which means it can be created and destroyed), if another dynamic event is created that has the same number that new event's logic on parsing the binary blob will be used. To show how this can be an issue, the following can crash the kernel: # cd /sys/kernel/tracing # for i in `seq 65536`; do echo 'p:kprobes/foo do_sys_openat2 $arg1:u32' > kprobe_events # done For every iteration of the above, the writing to the kprobe_events will remove the old event and create a new one (with the same format) and increase the type number to the next available on until the type number reaches over 65535 which is the max number for the 16 bit type. After it reaches that number, the logic to allocate a new number simply looks for the next available number. When an dynamic event is removed, that number is then available to be reused by the next dynamic event created. That is, once the above reaches the max number, the number assigned to the event in that loop will remain the same. Now that means deleting one dynamic event and created another will reuse the previous events type number. This is where bad things can happen. After the above loop finishes, the kprobes/foo event which reads the do_sys_openat2 function call's first parameter as an integer. # echo 1 > kprobes/foo/enable # cat /etc/passwd > /dev/null # cat trace cat-2211 [005] .... 2007.849603: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x130) arg1=4294967196 cat-2211 [005] .... 2007.849620: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x130) arg1=4294967196 cat-2211 [005] .... 2007.849838: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x130) arg1=4294967196 cat-2211 [005] .... 2007.849880: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x130) arg1=4294967196 # echo 0 > kprobes/foo/enable Now if we delete the kprobe and create a new one that reads a string: # echo 'p:kprobes/foo do_sys_openat2 +0($arg2):string' > kprobe_events And now we can the trace: # cat trace sendmail-1942 [002] ..... 530.136320: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x240) arg1= cat-2046 [004] ..... 530.930817: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x240) arg1="������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������" cat-2046 [004] ..... 530.930961: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x240) arg1="������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������" cat-2046 [004] ..... 530.934278: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x240) arg1="������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������" cat-2046 [004] ..... 530.934563: foo: (do_sys_openat2+0x0/0x240) arg1="��������������������������������������� ---truncated---

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-49006 is a Linux kernel tracing flaw. Reusing identifiers for removed dynamic events can make old trace-buffer data be parsed with the wrong event format, potentially crashing the kernel. This is most relevant where dynamic tracing such as kprobes is enabled and accessible.

Executive priority

Treat as a planned kernel maintenance item, with higher priority for shared hosts, observability platforms, and environments granting tracing access. There is no sourced evidence of active exploitation, but a kernel crash can affect availability.

Technical view

The issue involves Linux kernel dynamic tracing events. After many add/remove cycles, a 16-bit event type identifier can be reused while older records remain in the ring buffer. A new event parser may interpret stale records incorrectly. The kernel fix frees buffers when a used dynamic event is removed.

Likely exposure

Linux systems running affected kernel versions with dynamic tracing facilities, especially kprobe events, exposed to administrators or delegated users. The CVE record lists Linux kernels including 2.6.33, 5.4.226, 5.10.158, 5.15.82, 6.0.12, and 6.1 as affected.

Exploitation context

The public description demonstrates local interaction with tracing controls causing a kernel crash. The provided sources do not show remote exploitation, privilege escalation, or active exploitation. CISA KEV status is false in the source bundle.

Researcher notes

Evidence comes from the CVE description and upstream stable commits. No CVSS, CWE, or vendor-specific package fix matrix is provided in the bundle. Access requirements are not explicitly stated, so validate local tracing permissions before rating internal exposure.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a Linux kernel or distribution package containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Check your Linux vendor advisory for the exact fixed package for your distribution.
  • Restrict access to kernel tracing interfaces to trusted administrators only.
  • Review delegated debugging, observability, or container configurations that expose tracing controls.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers, appliances, and container hosts.
  • Confirm whether dynamic tracing or kprobe event interfaces are enabled and accessible.
  • Check distro changelogs for CVE-2022-49006 or the referenced upstream commits.
  • Verify tracing interfaces are not exposed to untrusted users or workloads.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

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

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CVE-2022-49006 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
6Source 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
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux77b44d1b7c28360910cdbd427fb62d485c08674c, 77b44d1b7c28360910cdbd427fb62d485c08674c, 77b44d1b7c28360910cdbd427fb62d485c08674c, 77b44d1b7c28360910cdbd427fb62d485c08674c, 77b44d1b7c28360910cdbd427fb62d485c08674cunaffected
LinuxLinux2.6.33, 0, 5.4.226, 5.10.158, 5.15.82, 6.0.12, 6.1affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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