CVE-2022-50881

EPSS 0.0%
  • Published: 2025-12-30T13:16:03.173

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: ath9k: Fix use-after-free in ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect()

This patch fixes a use-after-free in ath9k that occurs in
ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect() when ath9k_destroy_wmi() is trying to access
‘drv_priv’ that has already been freed by ieee80211_free_hw(), called by
ath9k_htc_hw_deinit(). The patch moves ath9k_destroy_wmi() before
ieee80211_free_hw(). Note that urbs from the driver should be killed
before freeing ‘wmi’ with ath9k_destroy_wmi() as their callbacks will
access ‘wmi’.

Found by a modified version of syzkaller.

==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ath9k_destroy_wmi+0x38/0x40
Read of size 8 at addr ffff8881069132a0 by task kworker/0:1/7

CPU: 0 PID: 7 Comm: kworker/0:1 Tainted: G O 5.14.0+ #131
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.12.1-0-ga5cab58e9a3f-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
Workqueue: usb_hub_wq hub_event
Call Trace:
dump_stack_lvl+0x8e/0xd1
print_address_description.constprop.0.cold+0x93/0x334
? ath9k_destroy_wmi+0x38/0x40
? ath9k_destroy_wmi+0x38/0x40
kasan_report.cold+0x83/0xdf
? ath9k_destroy_wmi+0x38/0x40
ath9k_destroy_wmi+0x38/0x40
ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect+0x329/0x3f0
? ath9k_hif_usb_suspend+0x120/0x120
? usb_disable_interface+0xfc/0x180
usb_unbind_interface+0x19b/0x7e0
? usb_autoresume_device+0x50/0x50
device_release_driver_internal+0x44d/0x520
bus_remove_device+0x2e5/0x5a0
device_del+0x5b2/0xe30
? __device_link_del+0x370/0x370
? usb_remove_ep_devs+0x43/0x80
? remove_intf_ep_devs+0x112/0x1a0
usb_disable_device+0x1e3/0x5a0
usb_disconnect+0x267/0x870
hub_event+0x168d/0x3950
? rcu_read_lock_sched_held+0xa1/0xd0
? hub_port_debounce+0x2e0/0x2e0
? check_irq_usage+0x860/0xf20
? drain_workqueue+0x281/0x360
? lock_release+0x640/0x640
? rcu_read_lock_sched_held+0xa1/0xd0
? rcu_read_lock_bh_held+0xb0/0xb0
? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x273/0x3e0
process_one_work+0x92b/0x1460
? pwq_dec_nr_in_flight+0x330/0x330
? rwlock_bug.part.0+0x90/0x90
worker_thread+0x95/0xe00
? __kthread_parkme+0x115/0x1e0
? process_one_work+0x1460/0x1460
kthread+0x3a1/0x480
? set_kthread_struct+0x120/0x120
ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30

The buggy address belongs to the page:
page:ffffea00041a44c0 refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0x0 pfn:0x106913
flags: 0x200000000000000(node=0|zone=2)
raw: 0200000000000000 0000000000000000 dead000000000122 0000000000000000
raw: 0000000000000000 0000000000000000 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000
page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected
page_owner tracks the page as freed
page last allocated via order 3, migratetype Unmovable, gfp_mask 0x40dc0(GFP_KERNEL|__GFP_COMP|__GFP_ZERO), pid 7, ts 38347963444, free_ts 41399957635
prep_new_page+0x1aa/0x240
get_page_from_freelist+0x159a/0x27c0
__alloc_pages+0x2da/0x6a0
alloc_pages+0xec/0x1e0
kmalloc_order+0x39/0xf0
kmalloc_order_trace+0x19/0x120
__kmalloc+0x308/0x390
wiphy_new_nm+0x6f5/0x1dd0
ieee80211_alloc_hw_nm+0x36d/0x2230
ath9k_htc_probe_device+0x9d/0x1e10
ath9k_htc_hw_init+0x34/0x50
ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb+0x25f/0x4e0
request_firmware_work_func+0x131/0x240
process_one_work+0x92b/0x1460
worker_thread+0x95/0xe00
kthread+0x3a1/0x480
page last free stack trace:
free_pcp_prepare+0x3d3/0x7f0
free_unref_page+0x1e/0x3d0
device_release+0xa4/0x240
kobject_put+0x186/0x4c0
put_device+0x20/0x30
ath9k_htc_disconnect_device+0x1cf/0x2c0
ath9k_htc_hw_deinit+0x26/0x30
ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect+0x2d9/0x3f0
usb_unbind_interface+0x19b/0x7e0
device_release_driver_internal+0x44d/0x520
bus_remove_device+0x2e5/0x5a0
device_del+0x5b2/0xe30
usb_disable_device+0x1e3/0x5a0
usb_disconnect+0x267/0x870
hub_event+0x168d/0x3950
process_one_work+0x92b/0x1460

Memory state around the buggy address:
ffff888106913180: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
ffff888106913200: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
>ffff888
—truncated—

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How to fix CVE-2022-50881

CVE-2022-50881 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath9k: Fix use-after-free in ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect() This patch fixes a use-after-free in ath9k that occurs in ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect() when ath9k_destroy_wmi() is trying to access ‘drv_priv’ that has already been freed by ieee80211_free_hw(), called by ath9k_htc_hw_deinit(). The patch moves ath9k_destroy_wmi() before ieee80211_free_hw(). Note that urbs from the […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Dec 30, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Dec 30, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.