CVE-2022-50476: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntb_netdev: Use dev_kfree_skb_any() in interrupt context TX/RX callback handlers (ntb

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntb_netdev: Use dev_kfree_skb_any() in interrupt context TX/RX callback handlers (ntb_netd

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ntb_netdev: Use dev_kfree_skb_any() in interrupt context TX/RX callback handlers (ntb_netdev_tx_handler(), ntb_netdev_rx_handler()) can be called in interrupt context via the DMA framework when the respective DMA operations have completed. As such, any calls by these routines to free skb's, should use the interrupt context safe dev_kfree_skb_any() function. Previously, these callback handlers would call the interrupt unsafe version of dev_kfree_skb(). This has not presented an issue on Intel IOAT DMA engines as that driver utilizes tasklets rather than a hard interrupt handler, like the AMD PTDMA DMA driver. On AMD systems, a kernel WARNING message is encountered, which is being issued from skb_release_head_state() due to in_hardirq() being true. Besides the user visible WARNING from the kernel, the other symptom of this bug was that TCP/IP performance across the ntb_netdev interface was very poor, i.e. approximately an order of magnitude below what was expected. With the repair to use dev_kfree_skb_any(), kernel WARNINGs from skb_release_head_state() ceased and TCP/IP performance, as measured by iperf, was on

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.16%, higher than 5% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 31, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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