CVE-2022-50880
NoneCVSS
—
EPSS
0.3%
Published
Dec 30, 2025
CISA due date
—
Cloudanix analysis
A bug in certain Wi-Fi drivers on Linux computers could let an attacker crash the system or possibly run code with higher privileges if they can connect to the same network.
- Exploitation
- Local Privilege
- Attacker needs
- Local User
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Impact
- Privilege Gain
- Component
- OS kernel
- Class
- Use After Free
- Remediation
- Upgrade
- Effort
- Medium
- Patch risk
- Low
What it actually does
Use-after-free read in ath10k_sta_state when peer delete fails during disconnect, because multiple HTT_T2H_MSG_TYPE_PEER_MAP events map distinct peer IDs to the same ath10k_peer structure and only the first is freed on failure.
Why it matters to the business
Kernel memory corruption on affected Linux Wi-Fi systems using ath10k hardware can cause crashes or potential privilege escalation; low public exploit activity and no ransomware usage reduce immediate operational risk, though unpatched kernels remain exposed indefinitely.
How an attack unfolds
An attacker triggers repeated peer map events for the same station during association, then forces a disconnect where peer delete times out; the subsequent free of the first peer ID leaves dangling references for remaining IDs, enabling the use-after-free on the next access in ath10k_sta_state.
How to fix it
Upgrade the Linux kernel to a version containing commit 15604ab67179ae27ea3c7fb24b6df32b143257c4 or later; apply the peer map cleanup logic in ath10k_sta_state for all vdev_id/address entries.
How to confirm the fix worked
Confirm the patch is present by checking for the added peer map cleanup loop in ath10k_sta_state; reproduce the original KFENCE use-after-free scenario and verify it no longer occurs; scan dmesg for absence of the reported ath10k_peer_map_event multi-mapping logs followed by delete failure.
Typical attack path
- Associate to an AP using an ath10k device, causing multiple peer map events to the same ath10k_peer
- Initiate deauthentication or disconnect that causes peer delete to fail with timeout
- Trigger the code path in ath10k_sta_state that accesses the already-freed peer structure via a second peer ID
How to detect it
Search kernel logs for KFENCE use-after-free reports in ath10k_sta_state, failed peer delete messages containing timeout errors, and sequences of multiple htt peer map events for the same MAC address followed by deauth; correlate with ath10k_pci process names and wlan0 interface activity.
- BUG: KFENCE: use-after-free read in ath10k_sta_state
- failed to delete peer .* for vdev .* -110
- found sta peer .* entry on vdev .* after it was supposedly removed
- htt peer map vdev .* peer .* id
- ath10k_peer_map_event
What your security team should do
- Prioritize kernel updates on all systems using ath10k Wi-Fi hardware within standard patch cycles
- Monitor for KFENCE or KASAN reports referencing ath10k_sta_state and ath10k_peer_map_event
- Disable ath10k modules on non-essential systems until patched if Wi-Fi is not required
The record
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath10k: add peer map clean up for peer delete in ath10k_sta_state() When peer delete failed in a disconnect operation, use-after-free detected by KFENCE in below log. It is because for each vdev_id and address, it has only one struct ath10k_peer, it is allocated in ath10k_peer_map_event(). When connected to an AP, it has more than one HTT_T2H_MSG_TYPE_PEER_MAP reported from firmware, then the array peer_map of struct ath10k will be set muti-elements to the same ath10k_peer in ath10k_peer_map_event(). When peer delete failed in ath10k_sta_state(), the ath10k_peer will be free for the 1st peer id in array peer_map of struct ath10k, and then use-after-free happened for the 2nd peer id because they map to the same ath10k_peer. And clean up all peers in array peer_map for the ath10k_peer, then user-after-free disappeared peer map event log: [ 306.911021] wlan0: authenticate with b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e [ 306.957187] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: mac vdev 0 peer create b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e (new sta) sta 1 / 32 peer 1 / 33 [ 306.957395] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt peer map vdev 0 peer b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e id 246 [ 306.957404] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt peer map vdev 0 peer b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e id 198 [ 306.986924] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt peer map vdev 0 peer b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e id 166 peer unmap event log: [ 435.715691] wlan0: deauthenticating from b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING) [ 435.716802] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: mac vdev 0 peer delete b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e sta ffff990e0e9c2b50 (sta gone) [ 435.717177] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt peer unmap vdev 0 peer b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e id 246 [ 435.717186] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt peer unmap vdev 0 peer b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e id 198 [ 435.717193] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: htt peer unmap vdev 0 peer b0:2a:43:e6:75:0e id 166 use-after-free log: [21705.888627] wlan0: deauthenticating from d0:76:8f:82:be:75 by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING) [21713.799910] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: failed to delete peer d0:76:8f:82:be:75 for vdev 0: -110 [21713.799925] ath10k_pci 0000:01:00.0: found sta peer d0:76:8f:82:be:75 (ptr 0000000000000000 id 102) entry on vdev 0 after it was supposedly removed [21713.799968] ================================================================== [21713.799991] BUG: KFENCE: use-after-free read in ath10k_sta_state+0x265/0xb8a [ath10k_core] [21713.799991] [21713.799997] Use-after-free read at 0x00000000abe1c75e (in kfence-#69): [21713.800010] ath10k_sta_state+0x265/0xb8a [ath10k_core] [21713.800041] drv_sta_state+0x115/0x677 [mac80211] [21713.800059] __sta_info_destroy_part2+0xb1/0x133 [mac80211] [21713.800076] __sta_info_flush+0x11d/0x162 [mac80211] [21713.800093] ieee80211_set_disassoc+0x12d/0x2f4 [mac80211] [21713.800110] ieee80211_mgd_deauth+0x26c/0x29b [mac80211] [21713.800137] cfg80211_mlme_deauth+0x13f/0x1bb [cfg80211] [21713.800153] nl80211_deauthenticate+0xf8/0x121 [cfg80211] [21713.800161] genl_rcv_msg+0x38e/0x3be [21713.800166] netlink_rcv_skb+0x89/0xf7 [21713.800171] genl_rcv+0x28/0x36 [21713.800176] netlink_unicast+0x179/0x24b [21713.800181] netlink_sendmsg+0x3a0/0x40e [21713.800187] sock_sendmsg+0x72/0x76 [21713.800192] ____sys_sendmsg+0x16d/0x1e3 [21713.800196] ___sys_sendmsg+0x95/0xd1 [21713.800200] __sys_sendmsg+0x85/0xbf [21713.800205] do_syscall_64+0x43/0x55 [21713.800210] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xa9 [21713.800213] [21713.800219] kfence-#69: 0x000000009149b0d5-0x000000004c0697fb, size=1064, cache=kmalloc-2k [21713.800219] [21713.800224] allocated by task 13 on cpu 0 at 21705.501373s: [21713.800241] ath10k_peer_map_event+0x7e/0x154 [ath10k_core] [21713.800254] ath10k_htt_t2h_msg_handler+0x586/0x1039 [ath10k_core] [21713.800265] ath10k_htt_htc_t2h_msg_handler+0x12/0x28 [ath10k_core] [21713.800277] ath10k_htc_rx_completion_handler+0x14c/0x1b5 [ath10k_core] [21713.800283] ath10k_pci_process_rx_cb+0x195/0x1d ---truncated---
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Introduced | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Kernel | 4.8.0 | 4.9.331 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP4 | kernel-default | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | kernel-64kb | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | kernel-default | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | kernel-default-base | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1.150400.24.98.3 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | kernel-docs | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | kernel-source | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | kernel-syms | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-64kb | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-default | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-default-base | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1.150400.24.98.3 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-docs | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-source | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-syms | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 | kernel-default | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP4_Update_48 | 0 | 1-150400.9.7.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | kernel-default | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1.150400.24.98.3 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | kernel-rt | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.15.142.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.15.142.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | kernel-default | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1.150400.24.98.3 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | kernel-rt | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.15.142.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.15.142.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | kernel-rt | 0 | 5.14.21-150500.13.118.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 5.14.21-150500.13.118.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-64kb | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-default | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-default-base | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1.150400.24.98.3 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-docs | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-source | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-syms | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | kernel-default | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1.150400.24.98.3 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | kernel-docs | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | kernel-source | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | kernel-syms | 0 | 5.14.21-150400.24.194.1 |
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