CVE-2022-49531: loop: implement ->free_disk

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-02-26 · updated 2026-08-04
Weakness: CWE-667

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: loop: implement ->free_disk Ensure that the lo_device which is stored in the gendisk private data is valid until the gendisk is freed. Currently the loop driver uses a lot of effort to make sure a device is not freed when it is still in use, but to to fix a potential deadlock this will be relaxed a bit soon.

Affected products

Linux kernel: before 5.18.3 — fixed in 5.18.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.18.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aadd1443aae7fe8956e3b11157827067f034406a
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d2c7f56f8b5256d57f9e3fc7794c31361d43bdd9

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