wifi: rtl8xxxu: fix use-after-free from rx_urb_wq on stop
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rtl8xxxu: fix use-after-free from rx_urb_wq on stop rtl8xxxu arms rx_urb_wq from the RX completion path: rtl8xxxu_rx_complete() hands the URB to rtl8xxxu_queue_rx_urb(), which queues it on rx_urb_pending_list and, once the list grows past RTL8XXXU_RX_URB_PENDING_WATER, schedules rx_urb_wq. The worker rtl8xxxu_rx_urb_work() drains rx_urb_pending_list, recovers priv through container_of, and resubmits each URB through rtl8xxxu_submit_rx_urb(), which anchors it on rx_anchor and dereferences priv->udev. rtl8xxxu_stop() cancels the sibling work items (c2hcmd_work, ra_watchdog, update_beacon_work) but never cancels rx_urb_wq, so a worker armed during the last burst of RX traffic can run rtl8xxxu_rx_urb_work() after rtl8xxxu_disconnect() has called ieee80211_free_hw(), which frees priv, producing a use-after-free. The window opens under active RX traffic (pending count above the watermark) followed by a disconnect. There are two teardown races to close: * rtl8xxxu_queue_rx_urb() decided whether to enqueue under rx_urb_lock but called schedule_work() after dropping the lock. A completion that observed shutdown == false and released the lock could then call schedule_work() after rtl8xxxu_stop() had set shutdown and cancel_work_sync() had already returned, arming the worker to run after the teardown. Move schedule_work() under the same !shutdown branch so the arming decision is atomic with the shutdown check. * rtl8xxxu_rx_urb_work() anchors every URB it drained back onto rx_anchor through rtl8xxxu_submit_rx_urb(). A worker still running when usb_kill_anchored_urbs(&priv->rx_anchor) returned would submit a URB that escaped the kill. In rtl8xxxu_stop(), call cancel_work_sync(&priv->rx_urb_wq) before the kill so the worker is drained first. After priv->shutdown is set under rx_urb_lock, completions can no longer queue rx_urb_wq. cancel_work_sync() then drains the last queued or running worker, and the following usb_kill_anchored_urbs() kills the URBs it may have submitted. rtl8xxxu_disconnect() is covered because ieee80211_unregister_hw() guarantees .stop() runs for a live interface before ieee80211_free_hw() frees priv. The probe error path needs no cancel: rx_urb_wq is INIT_WORK()'d there but cannot have been scheduled, since no URB is submitted before ieee80211_register_hw() succeeds. This bug was found by static analysis.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.273, 5.15.224, 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.109, 6.18.50, 7.2.4, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-80947
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-g2ww-fvxp-525w
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/Linux@17d5ae58973122eea7625a87cd3d80a8beb23b47, Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-24 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-24 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/Linux@06e6bbb0abc2ae22e6e4d184250075e5c9e090d6, Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected] +3 · CNA
- 2026-10-30 3 new references · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75e7e19e9218e3b895e652f04acf08113dc3aa00
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da1678cca182567fd84618b689f4424f3f55f712
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06e6bbb0abc2ae22e6e4d184250075e5c9e090d6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/17d5ae58973122eea7625a87cd3d80a8beb23b47
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/800d2b490a9af1e7132a3564c2ad5a81292e5b40
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/620acb1e8037b73a457dc8ef20fc23fc7adcb405
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/972ab8b9c08f3eb3fa535082de2950dd93604dfd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c080026ecc17eecb103f8927c64ea73a74bb818
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Sources
- CVE-2026-80947 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-80947 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-g2ww-fvxp-525w · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-80947 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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