CVE-2022-50179 [High] | Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel

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]

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-04-14	0.02%	0.06%	+0.04%
2	2025-06-18	—	0.02%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-04-14

0.02%

0.06%

+0.04%

2025-06-18

—

0.02%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-50179

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	not yet assigned	CVE-2022-50179 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2022-50179
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-50179
`suse`	medium	—	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2022-50179/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2022-50179 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1551 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1145, released 156, ignored 148, not-affected 102.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2022-50179

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-50179

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	>= 2.6.35, < 4.14.291	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.15, < 4.19.256	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 4.20, < 5.4.211	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.137	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.61	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.16, < 5.18.18	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.19, < 5.19.2	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::

References for CVE-2022-50179

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03ca957c5f7b55660957eda20b5db4110319ac7a	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0ac4827f78c7ffe8eef074bc010e7e34bc22f533	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/62bc1ea5c7401d77eaf73d0c6a15f3d2e742856e	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b14ab47937ba441e75e8dbb9fbfc9c55efa41c6	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab7a0ddf5f1cdec63cb21840369873806fc36d80	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b66ebac40f64336ae2d053883bee85261060bd27	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e9e21206b8ea62220b486310c61277e7ebfe7cec	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eccd7c3e2596b574241a7670b5b53f5322f470e5	Patch

URL

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-50179

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-50179

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-50179

OS Trackers for CVE-2022-50179

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-50179

References for CVE-2022-50179