CVE-2022-49724 is a vulnerability identified in the Linux kernel specifically related to the handling of interrupt requests (IRQs) in the tty goldfish driver. The issue arises from an incorrect call to the free_irq() function during the removal or unbinding of the driver. The vulnerability manifests as an attempt to free an IRQ that has already been freed, which triggers a kernel warning and can lead to a kernel panic (splat). The root cause is the passing of an incorrect device identifier (dev_id) to free_irq(), which is critical for correctly releasing IRQ resources. This bug is located in the kernel's IRQ management code, specifically at kernel/irq/manage.c, and affects the goldfish_tty_remove function responsible for driver removal. The consequence of this flaw is a potential denial of service (DoS) condition due to kernel crashes when the driver is unbound or removed. The vulnerability does not appear to have known exploits in the wild, and no CVSS score has been assigned yet. The affected versions are identified by a specific commit hash, indicating it is a recent or narrowly scoped issue. The vulnerability requires kernel-level access to trigger and is related to device driver lifecycle management rather than user-space applications. This flaw is primarily a stability and availability risk rather than a direct confidentiality or integrity compromise.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-49724 is mainly related to system stability and availability. Linux is widely used across European enterprises, government agencies, and critical infrastructure, especially in server environments, embedded systems, and cloud platforms. Systems using the affected goldfish tty driver, which is typically associated with Android emulation or specific virtualized environments, could experience kernel panics or crashes during device driver removal or reconfiguration. While this may not directly lead to data breaches or privilege escalation, the resulting denial of service could disrupt operations, particularly in environments relying on Linux-based virtualization or emulation for development, testing, or production workloads. The vulnerability's impact is more pronounced in scenarios where dynamic driver management is frequent or automated. European organizations with stringent uptime requirements or those operating critical infrastructure may face operational risks if this vulnerability is exploited or triggered inadvertently. However, since there are no known exploits in the wild and the vulnerability requires specific conditions to trigger, the immediate risk is moderate but should not be ignored.

To mitigate CVE-2022-49724, European organizations should: 1) Apply the official Linux kernel patches that correct the dev_id parameter passed to free_irq() in the goldfish tty driver removal code as soon as they become available. 2) Review and audit any custom or third-party kernel modules or drivers that interact with IRQ management to ensure they handle resource release correctly. 3) Limit the use of the goldfish tty driver or related emulation environments to trusted and controlled contexts, minimizing unnecessary driver unbinding or removal operations. 4) Implement robust kernel crash monitoring and alerting to detect and respond quickly to any kernel panics that may arise from this or similar vulnerabilities. 5) For environments using virtualization or emulation heavily, consider isolating affected systems or applying kernel hardening techniques to reduce the impact of potential DoS conditions. 6) Maintain up-to-date backups and disaster recovery plans to mitigate operational disruptions caused by unexpected kernel crashes. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific driver and kernel subsystem involved and emphasizing proactive monitoring and controlled usage scenarios.