{"id":"CVE-2022-50279","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"wifi: rtlwifi: Fix global-out-of-bounds bug in _rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit()","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: rtlwifi: Fix global-out-of-bounds bug in _rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit()\n\nThere is a global-out-of-bounds reported by KASAN:\n\n  BUG: KASAN: global-out-of-bounds in\n  _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte.part.0+0x3d/0x84 [rtl8821ae]\n  Read of size 1 at addr ffffffffa0773c43 by task NetworkManager/411\n\n  CPU: 6 PID: 411 Comm: NetworkManager Tainted: G      D\n  6.1.0-rc8+ #144 e15588508517267d37\n  Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009),\n  Call Trace:\n   <TASK>\n   ...\n   kasan_report+0xbb/0x1c0\n   _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte.part.0+0x3d/0x84 [rtl8821ae]\n   rtl8821ae_phy_bb_config.cold+0x346/0x641 [rtl8821ae]\n   rtl8821ae_hw_init+0x1f5e/0x79b0 [rtl8821ae]\n   ...\n   </TASK>\n\nThe root cause of the problem is that the comparison order of\n\"prate_section\" in _rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit() is wrong. The\n_rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() is used to compare the first n bytes of the two\nstrings from tail to head, which causes the problem. In the\n_rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit(), it was originally intended to meet\nthis requirement by carefully designing the comparison order.\nFor example, \"pregulation\" and \"pbandwidth\" are compared in order of\nlength from small to large, first is 3 and last is 4. However, the\ncomparison order of \"prate_section\" dose not obey such order requirement,\ntherefore when \"prate_section\" is \"HT\", when comparing from tail to head,\nit will lead to access out of bounds in _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte(). As\nmentioned above, the _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() has the same function as\nstrcmp(), so just strcmp() is enough.\n\nFix it by removing _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() and use strcmp() barely.\nAlthough it can be fixed by adjusting the comparison order of\n\"prate_section\", this may cause the value of \"rate_section\" to not be\nfrom 0 to 5. In addition, commit \"21e4b0726dc6\" not only moved driver\nfrom staging to regular tree, but also added setting txpower limit\nfunction during the driver config phase, so the problem was introduced\nby this commit.","publishedAt":"2025-09-15T14:21:16.051Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-11T19:16:15.535Z","severity":null,"assigner":"Linux","products":["Linux Linux"],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"fc3442247716fc426bbcf62ed65e086e48a6d44f","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"28ea268d95e57cdf6394a058f0d854206d478772","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"1e950b9a841bc96e98ee25680d5c7aa305120be1","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"0c962dcd6bf64b78eaffc09e497a2beb4e48bc32","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"f1fe40120de6ad4ffa8299fde035a5feba10d4fb","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"057b52461dc005ecd85a3e4998913b1492ec0f72","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"117dbeda22ec5ea0918254d03b540ef8b8a64d53","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtlwifi/rtl8821ae/phy.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"3.18","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"3.18","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"4.19.276","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"4.19.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.4.235","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.4.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.173","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.99","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.16","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.2.3","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.2.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.3","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtlwifi/rtl8821ae/phy.c"]}],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fc3442247716fc426bbcf62ed65e086e48a6d44f","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28ea268d95e57cdf6394a058f0d854206d478772","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e950b9a841bc96e98ee25680d5c7aa305120be1","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c962dcd6bf64b78eaffc09e497a2beb4e48bc32","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1fe40120de6ad4ffa8299fde035a5feba10d4fb","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/057b52461dc005ecd85a3e4998913b1492ec0f72","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/117dbeda22ec5ea0918254d03b540ef8b8a64d53"],"weaknesses":[],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:05:26.763Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2022/50xxx/CVE-2022-50279.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2022-50279","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2025-09-15T14:21:16.051Z","dateUpdated":"2026-05-11T19:16:15.535Z","assignerShortName":"Linux","assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateReserved":"2025-09-15T13:58:00.976Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"wifi: rtlwifi: Fix global-out-of-bounds bug in _rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit()","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: rtlwifi: Fix global-out-of-bounds bug in _rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit()\n\nThere is a global-out-of-bounds reported by KASAN:\n\n  BUG: KASAN: global-out-of-bounds in\n  _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte.part.0+0x3d/0x84 [rtl8821ae]\n  Read of size 1 at addr ffffffffa0773c43 by task NetworkManager/411\n\n  CPU: 6 PID: 411 Comm: NetworkManager Tainted: G      D\n  6.1.0-rc8+ #144 e15588508517267d37\n  Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009),\n  Call Trace:\n   <TASK>\n   ...\n   kasan_report+0xbb/0x1c0\n   _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte.part.0+0x3d/0x84 [rtl8821ae]\n   rtl8821ae_phy_bb_config.cold+0x346/0x641 [rtl8821ae]\n   rtl8821ae_hw_init+0x1f5e/0x79b0 [rtl8821ae]\n   ...\n   </TASK>\n\nThe root cause of the problem is that the comparison order of\n\"prate_section\" in _rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit() is wrong. The\n_rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() is used to compare the first n bytes of the two\nstrings from tail to head, which causes the problem. In the\n_rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit(), it was originally intended to meet\nthis requirement by carefully designing the comparison order.\nFor example, \"pregulation\" and \"pbandwidth\" are compared in order of\nlength from small to large, first is 3 and last is 4. However, the\ncomparison order of \"prate_section\" dose not obey such order requirement,\ntherefore when \"prate_section\" is \"HT\", when comparing from tail to head,\nit will lead to access out of bounds in _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte(). As\nmentioned above, the _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() has the same function as\nstrcmp(), so just strcmp() is enough.\n\nFix it by removing _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() and use strcmp() barely.\nAlthough it can be fixed by adjusting the comparison order of\n\"prate_section\", this may cause the value of \"rate_section\" to not be\nfrom 0 to 5. In addition, commit \"21e4b0726dc6\" not only moved driver\nfrom staging to regular tree, but also added setting txpower limit\nfunction during the driver config phase, so the problem was introduced\nby this commit."}],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"fc3442247716fc426bbcf62ed65e086e48a6d44f","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"28ea268d95e57cdf6394a058f0d854206d478772","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"1e950b9a841bc96e98ee25680d5c7aa305120be1","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"0c962dcd6bf64b78eaffc09e497a2beb4e48bc32","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"f1fe40120de6ad4ffa8299fde035a5feba10d4fb","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"057b52461dc005ecd85a3e4998913b1492ec0f72","versionType":"git"},{"version":"21e4b0726dc671c423e2dc9a85364716219c4502","status":"affected","lessThan":"117dbeda22ec5ea0918254d03b540ef8b8a64d53","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtlwifi/rtl8821ae/phy.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"3.18","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"3.18","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"4.19.276","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"4.19.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.4.235","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.4.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.173","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.99","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.16","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.2.3","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.2.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.3","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtlwifi/rtl8821ae/phy.c"]}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fc3442247716fc426bbcf62ed65e086e48a6d44f"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28ea268d95e57cdf6394a058f0d854206d478772"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e950b9a841bc96e98ee25680d5c7aa305120be1"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c962dcd6bf64b78eaffc09e497a2beb4e48bc32"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1fe40120de6ad4ffa8299fde035a5feba10d4fb"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/057b52461dc005ecd85a3e4998913b1492ec0f72"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/117dbeda22ec5ea0918254d03b540ef8b8a64d53"}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"Linux","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateUpdated":"2026-05-11T19:16:15.535Z"},"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"operator":"OR","negate":false,"cpeMatch":[{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.18","versionEndExcluding":"4.19.276"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.18","versionEndExcluding":"5.4.235"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.18","versionEndExcluding":"5.10.173"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.18","versionEndExcluding":"5.15.99"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.18","versionEndExcluding":"6.1.16"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.18","versionEndExcluding":"6.2.3"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.18","versionEndExcluding":"6.3"}]}]}],"x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}}}}