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CVE Record

CVE-2022-50297: wifi: ath9k: verify the expected usb_endpoints are present

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath9k: verify the expected usb_endpoints are present The bug arises when a USB device claims to be an ATH9K but doesn't have the expected endpoints. (In this case there was an interrupt endpoint where the driver expected a bulk endpoint.) The kernel needs to be able to handle such devices without getting an internal error. usb 1-1: BOGUS urb xfer, pipe 3 != type 1 WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 500 at drivers/usb/core/urb.c:493 usb_submit_urb+0xce2/0x1430 drivers/usb/core/urb.c:493 Modules linked in: CPU: 3 PID: 500 Comm: kworker/3:2 Not tainted 5.10.135-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.12.0-1 04/01/2014 Workqueue: events request_firmware_work_func RIP: 0010:usb_submit_urb+0xce2/0x1430 drivers/usb/core/urb.c:493 Call Trace: ath9k_hif_usb_alloc_rx_urbs drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:908 [inline] ath9k_hif_usb_alloc_urbs+0x75e/0x1010 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1019 ath9k_hif_usb_dev_init drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1109 [inline] ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb+0x142/0x530 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1242 request_firmware_work_func+0x12e/0x240 drivers/base/firmware_loader/main.c:1097 process_one_work+0x9af/0x1600 kernel/workqueue.c:2279 worker_thread+0x61d/0x12f0 kernel/workqueue.c:2425 kthread+0x3b4/0x4a0 kernel/kthread.c:313 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:299 Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel issue affects the ath9k USB Wi-Fi driver. A malformed USB device can claim to be ath9k-compatible while presenting unexpected USB endpoints, causing the kernel driver to hit an internal warning instead of rejecting the device cleanly.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted maintenance item, not an emergency. Prioritize systems exposed to untrusted USB devices, shared labs, kiosks, or virtualization hosts with USB passthrough.

Technical view

The ath9k hif_usb path did not verify that required USB endpoints were present and of the expected type before allocating URBs. The reported case had an interrupt endpoint where bulk was expected, triggering usb_submit_urb warning behavior during firmware initialization.

Likely exposure

Exposure is mainly Linux systems using or permitting ath9k USB Wi-Fi adapters, especially where users can attach USB devices or pass USB devices into virtual machines. The bundle does not support broad remote exposure.

Exploitation context

No active exploitation is cited, and KEV is false. The source describes a Syzkaller-found malformed USB device scenario, not a network attack or public exploit chain.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports improper endpoint validation in the Linux ath9k USB driver. Impact is documented as a kernel warning/internal error; the bundle does not establish code execution, privilege escalation, panic, CVSS, CWE, or exploited-in-the-wild status.

Mitigation direction

  • Update Linux kernels to vendor-supported builds containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Restrict untrusted USB device attachment on sensitive Linux systems.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for exact package-level fix availability.
  • Disable unused ath9k USB support where operationally feasible.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux systems that use ath9k USB wireless adapters or load ath9k hif_usb.
  • Compare running kernel builds against distribution advisories and referenced stable commits.
  • Review kernel logs for ath9k hif_usb or usb_submit_urb endpoint warnings.
  • Confirm USB device control policies for servers, kiosks, and virtualized environments.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
11

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

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CVE-2022-50297 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
0ADP providers
10Source links

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.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxfb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08, fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08, fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08, fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08, fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08, fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08, fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08, fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08, fb9987d0f748c983bb795a86f47522313f701a08unaffected
LinuxLinux2.6.35, 0, 4.9.337, 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.86, 6.0.16, 6.1.2, 6.2affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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