CVE-2022-49291 [High] | Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: pcm: Fix races among concurrent hw_params and hw_free calls Currently we have neither proper check nor protection against the concurrent calls of PCM hw_params and hw_free ioctls, which may result in a UAF. Since the existing PCM stream lock can't be used for protecting the whole ioctl operations, we need a new mutex to protect those racy calls. This patch introduced a new mutex, runtime->buffer_mutex, and applies it to both hw_params and hw_free ioctl code paths. Along with it, the both functions are slightly modified (the mmap_count check is moved into the state-check block) for code simplicity.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-04-08	0.06%	0.01%	-0.04%
2	2026-04-06	0.05%	0.06%	+0.01%
3	2025-06-09	—	0.05%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-04-08

0.06%

0.01%

-0.04%

2026-04-06

0.05%

0.06%

+0.01%

2025-06-09

—

0.05%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-49291

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	not yet assigned	CVE-2022-49291 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2022-49291
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-49291
`suse`	high	—	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-49291/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2022-49291 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1551 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1145, ignored 149, released 145, not-affected 107, needed 5.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-49291

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-49291

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	< 4.14.279	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.15, < 4.19.243	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.20, < 5.4.193	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.109	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.32	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.16, < 5.16.18	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.17, < 5.17.1	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::

References for CVE-2022-49291

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0090c13cbbdffd7da079ac56f80373a9a1be0bf8	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0f6947f5f5208f6ebd4d76a82a4757e2839a23f8	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1bbf82d9f961414d6c76a08f7f843ea068e0ab7b	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33061d0fba51d2bf70a2ef9645f703c33fe8e438	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92ee3c60ec9fe64404dc035e7c41277d74aa26cb	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9cb6c40a6ebe4a0cfc9d6a181958211682cffea9	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a42aa926843acca96c0dfbde2e835b8137f2f092	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fbeb492694ce0441053de57699e1e2b7bc148a69	Patch

URL

CVE-2022-49291 | ALSA: pcm: Fix races among concurrent hw_params and hw_free calls

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-49291

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-49291

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-49291

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-49291

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-49291

References for CVE-2022-49291