CVE-2022-49492: nvme-pci: fix a NULL pointer dereference in nvme_alloc_admin_tags

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.3% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-02-26 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme-pci: fix a NULL pointer dereference in nvme_alloc_admin_tags In nvme_alloc_admin_tags, the admin_q can be set to an error (typically -ENOMEM) if the blk_mq_init_queue call fails to set up the queue, which is checked immediately after the call. However, when we return the error message up the stack, to nvme_reset_work the error takes us to nvme_remove_dead_ctrl() nvme_dev_disable() nvme_suspend_queue(&dev->queues[0]). Here, we only check that the admin_q is non-NULL, rather than not an error or NULL, and begin quiescing a queue that never existed, leading to bad / NULL pointer dereference.

Affected products

Linux kernel: before 4.9.318; from 4.10 before 4.14.283; from 4.15 before 4.19.247; from 4.20 before 5.4.198; from 5.5 before 5.10.121; from 5.11 before 5.15.46 — fixed in 4.14.283, 4.19.247, 4.9.318, 5.10.121, 5.15.46, 5.17.14

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 4.14.283, 4.19.247, 4.9.318, 5.10.121. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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