CVE-2026-68363 (GCVE-0-2026-68363)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5
Published
2026-08-10 12:03
Modified
2026-08-19 16:34
Severity ?
VLAI Severity ?
EPSS score ?
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don't dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request
ath9k_hif_request_firmware() re-arms an asynchronous firmware load via
request_firmware_nowait(), passing hif_dev as the completion context, and
then still dereferences hif_dev:
dev_info(&hif_dev->udev->dev, "ath9k_htc: Firmware %s requested\n",
hif_dev->fw_name);
The re-armed callback ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb() runs on the "events"
workqueue and, when the firmware is missing, walks the retry chain into
ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_fail() -> complete_all(&hif_dev->fw_done). That
releases the wait_for_completion(&hif_dev->fw_done) in a concurrent
ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect(), which then kfree()s hif_dev. The trailing
dev_info() in the frame that re-armed the request can therefore read freed
memory (hif_dev->udev, the first field of struct hif_device_usb):
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ath9k_hif_request_firmware
Read of size 8 ... by task kworker/...
ath9k_hif_request_firmware
ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1247
request_firmware_work_func
Allocated by ...:
ath9k_hif_usb_probe drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c
Freed by ...:
ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect -> kfree drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c
The fw_done barrier only makes disconnect wait for the firmware chain to
*terminate*; it does not protect the outer ath9k_hif_request_firmware()
frame that re-armed the request and keeps touching hif_dev afterwards.
Drop the post-request dev_info(): it is the only use of hif_dev after the
async request is armed, and it is purely informational (the dev_err() on the
failure path runs only when request_firmware_nowait() did not arm a callback,
so hif_dev is still alive there).
This was first reported by syzbot as a single, non-reproduced crash that was
later auto-obsoleted, and was independently rediscovered by the reFuzz fuzzer,
which produced a C reproducer (USB-gadget connect/disconnect of an ath9k_htc
device whose firmware download fails). The vulnerable code is unchanged and
still present in v7.1-rc6, where the slab-use-after-free reproduces under KASAN
once the (sub-microsecond) race window is widened.
References
Impacted products
| Vendor | Product | Version | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
Version: e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc Version: e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc Version: e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc Version: e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc Version: e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc Version: e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc Version: e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc Version: e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc |
||
{
"containers": {
"cna": {
"affected": [
{
"defaultStatus": "unaffected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"lessThan": "47ed81aaa7f94d9808f4719e78a760c2ec1e6c86",
"status": "affected",
"version": "e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "48de0c6952192b0771fca468df4364d11ec74ad9",
"status": "affected",
"version": "e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "063497cc9f320ab71a7a937c3bc0a23e630aefe2",
"status": "affected",
"version": "e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "7f184ca38a90889f3f6665ff96748b95da39dbee",
"status": "affected",
"version": "e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "10b0ce629123a3737b4eda50188f73bb7be7b68b",
"status": "affected",
"version": "e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "48a69cedde7388294e4ea6fd804156cd62bc04fc",
"status": "affected",
"version": "e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "7c9046d92c4b9789c9d9d775e4fd5f34be64cb0a",
"status": "affected",
"version": "e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc",
"versionType": "git"
},
{
"lessThan": "dad9f96945d77ecd4708f730c06ef54dcd8cc057",
"status": "affected",
"version": "e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc",
"versionType": "git"
}
]
},
{
"defaultStatus": "affected",
"product": "Linux",
"programFiles": [
"drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c"
],
"repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
"vendor": "Linux",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "4.4"
},
{
"lessThan": "4.4",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.10.265",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "5.15.216",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.1.183",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.6.148",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.12.101",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "6.18.42",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "7.1.6",
"versionType": "semver"
},
{
"lessThanOrEqual": "*",
"status": "unaffected",
"version": "7.2",
"versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
}
]
}
],
"cpeApplicability": [
{
"nodes": [
{
"cpeMatch": [
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "5.10.265",
"versionStartIncluding": "4.4",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "5.15.216",
"versionStartIncluding": "4.4",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.1.183",
"versionStartIncluding": "4.4",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.6.148",
"versionStartIncluding": "4.4",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.12.101",
"versionStartIncluding": "4.4",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "6.18.42",
"versionStartIncluding": "4.4",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "7.1.6",
"versionStartIncluding": "4.4",
"vulnerable": true
},
{
"criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
"versionEndExcluding": "7.2",
"versionStartIncluding": "4.4",
"vulnerable": true
}
],
"negate": false,
"operator": "OR"
}
]
}
],
"descriptions": [
{
"lang": "en",
"value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don\u0027t dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request\n\nath9k_hif_request_firmware() re-arms an asynchronous firmware load via\nrequest_firmware_nowait(), passing hif_dev as the completion context, and\nthen still dereferences hif_dev:\n\n\tdev_info(\u0026hif_dev-\u003eudev-\u003edev, \"ath9k_htc: Firmware %s requested\\n\",\n\t\t hif_dev-\u003efw_name);\n\nThe re-armed callback ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb() runs on the \"events\"\nworkqueue and, when the firmware is missing, walks the retry chain into\nath9k_hif_usb_firmware_fail() -\u003e complete_all(\u0026hif_dev-\u003efw_done). That\nreleases the wait_for_completion(\u0026hif_dev-\u003efw_done) in a concurrent\nath9k_hif_usb_disconnect(), which then kfree()s hif_dev. The trailing\ndev_info() in the frame that re-armed the request can therefore read freed\nmemory (hif_dev-\u003eudev, the first field of struct hif_device_usb):\n\n BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ath9k_hif_request_firmware\n Read of size 8 ... by task kworker/...\n ath9k_hif_request_firmware\n ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1247\n request_firmware_work_func\n Allocated by ...:\n ath9k_hif_usb_probe drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c\n Freed by ...:\n ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect -\u003e kfree drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c\n\nThe fw_done barrier only makes disconnect wait for the firmware chain to\n*terminate*; it does not protect the outer ath9k_hif_request_firmware()\nframe that re-armed the request and keeps touching hif_dev afterwards.\n\nDrop the post-request dev_info(): it is the only use of hif_dev after the\nasync request is armed, and it is purely informational (the dev_err() on the\nfailure path runs only when request_firmware_nowait() did not arm a callback,\nso hif_dev is still alive there).\n\nThis was first reported by syzbot as a single, non-reproduced crash that was\nlater auto-obsoleted, and was independently rediscovered by the reFuzz fuzzer,\nwhich produced a C reproducer (USB-gadget connect/disconnect of an ath9k_htc\ndevice whose firmware download fails). The vulnerable code is unchanged and\nstill present in v7.1-rc6, where the slab-use-after-free reproduces under KASAN\nonce the (sub-microsecond) race window is widened."
}
],
"providerMetadata": {
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-19T16:34:18.694Z",
"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"shortName": "Linux"
},
"references": [
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47ed81aaa7f94d9808f4719e78a760c2ec1e6c86"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48de0c6952192b0771fca468df4364d11ec74ad9"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/063497cc9f320ab71a7a937c3bc0a23e630aefe2"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f184ca38a90889f3f6665ff96748b95da39dbee"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10b0ce629123a3737b4eda50188f73bb7be7b68b"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a69cedde7388294e4ea6fd804156cd62bc04fc"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c9046d92c4b9789c9d9d775e4fd5f34be64cb0a"
},
{
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dad9f96945d77ecd4708f730c06ef54dcd8cc057"
}
],
"title": "wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don\u0027t dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request",
"x_generator": {
"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
}
}
},
"cveMetadata": {
"assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
"assignerShortName": "Linux",
"cveId": "CVE-2026-68363",
"datePublished": "2026-08-10T12:03:40.355Z",
"dateReserved": "2026-07-30T09:28:09.385Z",
"dateUpdated": "2026-08-19T16:34:18.694Z",
"state": "PUBLISHED"
},
"dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
"dataVersion": "5.2"
}
Loading…
Loading…
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or seen somewhere by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability is confirmed from an analyst perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: This vulnerability was exploited and seen by the user reporting the sighting.
- Patched: This vulnerability was successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
- Not exploited: This vulnerability was not exploited or seen by the user reporting the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expresses doubt about the veracity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: This vulnerability was not successfully patched by the user reporting the sighting.
Loading…
Loading…