CVE-2022-49890: capabilities: fix potential memleak on error path from vfs_getxattr_alloc()

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: 2025-05-01 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-401

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: capabilities: fix potential memleak on error path from vfs_getxattr_alloc() In cap_inode_getsecurity(), we will use vfs_getxattr_alloc() to complete the memory allocation of tmpbuf, if we have completed the memory allocation of tmpbuf, but failed to call handler->get(...), there will be a memleak in below logic: |-- ret = (int)vfs_getxattr_alloc(mnt_userns, ...) | /* ^^^ alloc for tmpbuf */ |-- value = krealloc(*xattr_value, error + 1, flags) | /* ^^^ alloc memory */ |-- error = handler->get(handler, ...) | /* error! */ |-- *xattr_value = value | /* xattr_value is &tmpbuf (memory leak!) */ So we will try to free(tmpbuf) after vfs_getxattr_alloc() fails to fix it. [PM: subject line and backtrace tweaks]

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 4.14 before 4.14.299; from 4.15 before 4.19.265; from 4.20 before 5.4.224; from 5.5 before 5.10.154; from 5.11 before 5.15.78; from 5.16 before 6.0.8 — fixed in 4.14.299, 4.19.265, 5.10.154, 5.15.78, 5.4.224, 6.0.8

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 4.14.299, 4.19.265, 5.10.154, 5.15.78. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2022-49890 or the next vulnerability affects your stack