CVE-2022-50179: ath9k: fix use-after-free in ath9k_hif_usb_rx_cb

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 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: 2025-06-18 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ath9k: fix use-after-free in ath9k_hif_usb_rx_cb Syzbot reported use-after-free Read in ath9k_hif_usb_rx_cb() [0]. The problem was in incorrect htc_handle->drv_priv initialization. Probable call trace which can trigger use-after-free: ath9k_htc_probe_device() /* htc_handle->drv_priv = priv; */ ath9k_htc_wait_for_target() <--- Failed ieee80211_free_hw() <--- priv pointer is freed <IRQ> ... ath9k_hif_usb_rx_cb() ath9k_hif_usb_rx_stream() RX_STAT_INC() <--- htc_handle->drv_priv access In order to not add fancy protection for drv_priv we can move htc_handle->drv_priv initialization at the end of the ath9k_htc_probe_device() and add helper macro to make all *_STAT_* macros NULL safe, since syzbot has reported related NULL deref in that macros [1]

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 2.6.35 before 4.14.291; from 4.15 before 4.19.256; from 4.20 before 5.4.211; from 5.5 before 5.10.137; from 5.11 before 5.15.61; from 5.16 before 5.18.18 — fixed in 4.14.291, 4.19.256, 5.10.137, 5.15.61, 5.18.18, 5.19.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 4.14.291, 4.19.256, 5.10.137, 5.15.61. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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