Linux Kernel up to 5.18.2 ieee80211_restart_hw denial of service

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.18.2. It has been declared as problematic. The impacted element is the function ieee80211_restart_hw. Such manipulation leads to denial of service. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2022-49539. There is no available exploit. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 5.18.2. Affected by this issue is the function ieee80211_restart_hw. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. Impacted is availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rtw89: ser: fix CAM leaks occurring in L2 reset The CAM, meaning address CAM and bssid CAM here, will get leaks during SER (system error recover) L2 reset process and ieee80211_restart_hw() which is called by L2 reset process eventually. The normal flow would be like -> add interface (acquire 1) -> enter ips (release 1) -> leave ips (acquire 1) -> connection (occupy 1) The ieee80211_restart_hw() flow (under connection) -> ieee80211 reconfig -> add interface (acquire 1) -> leave ips (acquire 1) -> connection (occupy (A) + 2) Originally, CAM is released before HW restart only if connection is under security. Now, release CAM whatever connection it is to fix leak in (A). OTOH, check if CAM is already valid to avoid acquiring multiple times to fix (B). Besides, if AP mode, release address CAM of all stations before HW restart.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2022-49539 since 02/26/2025. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 5.18.3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch f6aff772c9978844529618d86aafb53e5d3ae161/b169f877f001a474fb89939842c390518160bcc5 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.18.0
• 5.18.1
• 5.18.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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