CVE-2022-49394: blk-iolatency: Fix inflight count imbalances and IO hangs on offline
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
blk-iolatency: Fix inflight count imbalances and IO hangs on offline
iolatency needs to track the number of inflight IOs per cgroup. As this
tracking can be expensive, it is disabled when no cgroup has iolatency
configured for the device. To ensure that the inflight counters stay
balanced, iolatency_set_limit() freezes the request_queue while manipulating
the enabled counter, which ensures that no IO is in flight and thus all
counters are zero.
Unfortunately, iolatency_set_limit() isn't the only place where the enabled
counter is manipulated. iolatency_pd_offline() can also dec the counter and
trigger disabling. As this disabling happens without freezing the q, this
can easily happen while some IOs are in flight and thus leak the counts.
This can be easily demonstrated by turning on iolatency on an one empty
cgroup while IOs are in flight in other cgroups and then removing the
cgroup. Note that iolatency shouldn't have been enabled elsewhere in the
system to ensure that removing the cgroup disables iolatency for the whole
device.
The following keeps flipping on and off iolatency on sda:
echo +io > /sys/fs/cgroup/cgroup.subtree_control
while true; do
mkdir -p /sys/fs/cgroup/test
echo '8:0 target=100000' > /sys/fs/cgroup/test/io.latency
sleep 1
rmdir /sys/fs/cgroup/test
sleep 1
done
and there's concurrent fio generating direct rand reads:
fio --name test --filename=/dev/sda --direct=1 --rw=randread \
--runtime=600 --time_based --iodepth=256 --numjobs=4 --bs=4k
while monitoring with the following drgn script:
while True:
for css in css_for_each_descendant_pre(prog['blkcg_root'].css.address_of_()):
for pos in hlist_for_each(container_of(css, 'struct blkcg', 'css').blkg_list):
blkg = container_of(pos, 'struct blkcg_gq', 'blkcg_node')
pd = blkg.pd[prog['blkcg_policy_iolatency'].plid]
if pd.value_() == 0:
continue
iolat = container_of(pd, 'struct iolatency_grp', 'pd')
inflight = iolat.rq_wait.inflight.counter.value_()
if inflight:
print(f'inflight={inflight} {disk_name(blkg.q.disk).decode("utf-8")} '
f'{cgroup_path(css.cgroup).decode("utf-8")}')
time.sleep(1)
The monitoring output looks like the following:
inflight=1 sda /user.slice
inflight=1 sda /user.slice
...
inflight=14 sda /user.slice
inflight=13 sda /user.slice
inflight=17 sda /user.slice
inflight=15 sda /user.slice
inflight=18 sda /user.slice
inflight=17 sda /user.slice
inflight=20 sda /user.slice
inflight=19 sda /user.slice <- fio stopped, inflight stuck at 19
inflight=19 sda /user.slice
inflight=19 sda /user.slice
If a cgroup with stuck inflight ends up getting throttled, the throttled IOs
will never get issued as there's no completion event to wake it up leading
to an indefinite hang.
This patch fixes the bug by unifying enable handling into a work item which
is automatically kicked off from iolatency_set_min_lat_nsec() which is
called from both iolatency_set_limit() and iolatency_pd_offline() paths.
Punting to a work item is necessary as iolatency_pd_offline() is called
under spinlocks while freezing a request_queue requires a sleepable context.
This also simplifies the code reducing LOC sans the comments and avoids the
unnecessary freezes which were happening whenever a cgroup's latency target
is newly set or cleared.
Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-49394 is a Linux kernel block I/O latency bug that can leave internal I/O counters stuck when cgroups are removed. In affected conditions, throttled storage I/O can hang indefinitely. This is an availability risk for Linux systems using cgroup I/O latency controls, not a reported remote compromise issue.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted availability issue. It is most relevant for Linux infrastructure using cgroup-based storage controls, especially multi-tenant or container-heavy systems. Patch through normal kernel maintenance, escalating where storage hangs could affect critical services.
Technical view
The flaw is in blk-iolatency inflight accounting. iolatency_pd_offline() could disable tracking without freezing the request queue, unlike iolatency_set_limit(), allowing inflight counts to leak while I/O is active. If a cgroup with leaked counts is later throttled, no completion event wakes queued I/O, causing an indefinite hang. Upstream resolves this by centralizing enable handling through a work item.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to Linux systems with affected kernels where block I/O latency cgroup controls are used or can be manipulated. The source does not establish remote exposure, privilege requirements, distribution package status, or cloud-provider impact.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not in CISA KEV, and the provided sources do not report active exploitation. The upstream description includes a reproducible failure condition involving cgroup I/O latency changes during concurrent disk I/O, but this should be treated as validation context, not evidence of weaponized exploitation.
Researcher notes
Key uncertainty is operational reach: the source describes the race and fix, but not CVSS, required privileges, distro package mappings, or real-world exploit activity. Validation should focus on kernel lineage, cgroup I/O latency usage, and whether the referenced stable commits are present.
Mitigation direction
Update affected Linux kernels using vendor or distribution security guidance.
Prioritize hosts using cgroup I/O latency controls for workloads or containers.
Review kernel vendor advisories for fixed package versions and reboot requirements.
Avoid operational reliance on affected iolatency behavior until patched.
Monitor storage I/O hangs on systems using block cgroup policies.
Validation and detection
Inventory Linux kernel versions across servers and container hosts.
Identify systems with cgroup v2 I/O latency controls enabled.
Check vendor advisories for backported fixes matching referenced stable commits.
Review logs and monitoring for unexplained block I/O stalls or hangs.
Confirm patched kernels are booted, not only installed.
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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Feb 26, 2025, 02:11 UTC (UTC+00:00)
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