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CVE Record

CVE-2022-48875: wifi: mac80211: sdata can be NULL during AMPDU start

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: sdata can be NULL during AMPDU start ieee80211_tx_ba_session_handle_start() may get NULL for sdata when a deauthentication is ongoing. Here a trace triggering the race with the hostapd test multi_ap_fronthaul_on_ap: (gdb) list *drv_ampdu_action+0x46 0x8b16 is in drv_ampdu_action (net/mac80211/driver-ops.c:396). 391 int ret = -EOPNOTSUPP; 392 393 might_sleep(); 394 395 sdata = get_bss_sdata(sdata); 396 if (!check_sdata_in_driver(sdata)) 397 return -EIO; 398 399 trace_drv_ampdu_action(local, sdata, params); 400 wlan0: moving STA 02:00:00:00:03:00 to state 3 wlan0: associated wlan0: deauthenticating from 02:00:00:00:03:00 by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING) wlan3.sta1: Open BA session requested for 02:00:00:00:00:00 tid 0 wlan3.sta1: dropped frame to 02:00:00:00:00:00 (unauthorized port) wlan0: moving STA 02:00:00:00:03:00 to state 2 wlan0: moving STA 02:00:00:00:03:00 to state 1 wlan0: Removed STA 02:00:00:00:03:00 wlan0: Destroyed STA 02:00:00:00:03:00 BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: fffffffffffffb48 PGD 11814067 P4D 11814067 PUD 11816067 PMD 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI CPU: 2 PID: 133397 Comm: kworker/u16:1 Tainted: G W 6.1.0-rc8-wt+ #59 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.0-20220807_005459-localhost 04/01/2014 Workqueue: phy3 ieee80211_ba_session_work [mac80211] RIP: 0010:drv_ampdu_action+0x46/0x280 [mac80211] Code: 53 48 89 f3 be 89 01 00 00 e8 d6 43 bf ef e8 21 46 81 f0 83 bb a0 1b 00 00 04 75 0e 48 8b 9b 28 0d 00 00 48 81 eb 10 0e 00 00 <8b> 93 58 09 00 00 f6 c2 20 0f 84 3b 01 00 00 8b 05 dd 1c 0f 00 85 RSP: 0018:ffffc900025ebd20 EFLAGS: 00010287 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: fffffffffffff1f0 RCX: ffff888102228240 RDX: 0000000080000000 RSI: ffffffff918c5de0 RDI: ffff888102228b40 RBP: ffffc900025ebd40 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff888118c18ec0 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffffc900025ebd60 R15: ffff888018b7efb8 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88817a600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: fffffffffffffb48 CR3: 0000000105228006 CR4: 0000000000170ee0 Call Trace: <TASK> ieee80211_tx_ba_session_handle_start+0xd0/0x190 [mac80211] ieee80211_ba_session_work+0xff/0x2e0 [mac80211] process_one_work+0x29f/0x620 worker_thread+0x4d/0x3d0 ? process_one_work+0x620/0x620 kthread+0xfb/0x120 ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 </TASK>

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-48875 is a Linux kernel Wi-Fi bug in mac80211. During a timing race while a device is deauthenticating, the kernel can dereference missing state and crash. The provided evidence supports an availability concern, not data theft or remote code execution.

Executive priority

Schedule remediation through normal kernel patch cycles, with higher priority for business-critical wireless infrastructure. There is no cited active exploitation, but the failure mode can crash affected systems or wireless workloads.

Technical view

The flaw is in ieee80211_tx_ba_session_handle_start()/drv_ampdu_action(). During AMPDU start, sdata may be NULL when deauthentication is underway, leading to a kernel page fault/Oops in mac80211 workqueue handling. The CVE references Linux stable commits as the resolution.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant to Linux systems using the mac80211 Wi-Fi stack, including wireless client or AP roles where AMPDU/block-ack setup and deauthentication can occur. Non-Wi-Fi systems or kernels without the affected mac80211 path are less likely exposed.

Exploitation context

The source bundle shows a reproducible race from a hostapd test and a kernel crash trace. It does not cite public exploitation, KEV listing, exploit code, or evidence of privilege escalation. Treat exploitation status as unconfirmed.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE description and upstream stable references. No CVSS, CWE, CPEs, or exploitability assessment are provided. The strongest supported impact is kernel availability failure from a mac80211 race during AMPDU/deauthentication handling.

Mitigation direction

  • Update affected Linux kernels to versions containing the referenced stable fixes or vendor backports.
  • Check distribution kernel advisories for CVE-2022-48875 coverage before assuming upstream commit presence.
  • Prioritize Wi-Fi infrastructure, AP-mode devices, and systems where wireless availability matters.
  • If immediate patching is blocked, reduce exposure of affected Wi-Fi roles where operationally feasible.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions on systems using mac80211-based Wi-Fi.
  • Confirm whether vendor kernel packages include one of the referenced stable fixes or equivalent backport.
  • Review kernel logs for mac80211 Oops traces around AMPDU start or deauthentication events.
  • Verify affected wireless services after updating, especially AP and client roaming/deauthentication behavior.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

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CVE-2022-48875 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
5Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux0ab337032a0dfcd5f2527d3306d3deeba5f95b59, 0ab337032a0dfcd5f2527d3306d3deeba5f95b59, 0ab337032a0dfcd5f2527d3306d3deeba5f95b59, 0ab337032a0dfcd5f2527d3306d3deeba5f95b59unaffected
LinuxLinux2.6.36, 0, 5.10.165, 5.15.90, 6.1.8, 6.2affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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