{"id":"CVE-2026-68363","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don't dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don't dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request\n\nath9k_hif_request_firmware() re-arms an asynchronous firmware load via\nrequest_firmware_nowait(), passing hif_dev as the completion context, and\nthen still dereferences hif_dev:\n\n\tdev_info(&hif_dev->udev->dev, \"ath9k_htc: Firmware %s requested\\n\",\n\t\t hif_dev->fw_name);\n\nThe re-armed callback ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb() runs on the \"events\"\nworkqueue and, when the firmware is missing, walks the retry chain into\nath9k_hif_usb_firmware_fail() -> complete_all(&hif_dev->fw_done). That\nreleases the wait_for_completion(&hif_dev->fw_done) in a concurrent\nath9k_hif_usb_disconnect(), which then kfree()s hif_dev. The trailing\ndev_info() in the frame that re-armed the request can therefore read freed\nmemory (hif_dev->udev, the first field of struct hif_device_usb):\n\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ath9k_hif_request_firmware\n  Read of size 8 ... by task kworker/...\n   ath9k_hif_request_firmware\n   ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb           drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1247\n   request_firmware_work_func\n  Allocated by ...:\n   ath9k_hif_usb_probe                 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c\n  Freed by ...:\n   ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect -> kfree   drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c\n\nThe fw_done barrier only makes disconnect wait for the firmware chain to\n*terminate*; it does not protect the outer ath9k_hif_request_firmware()\nframe that re-armed the request and keeps touching hif_dev afterwards.\n\nDrop the post-request dev_info(): it is the only use of hif_dev after the\nasync request is armed, and it is purely informational (the dev_err() on the\nfailure path runs only when request_firmware_nowait() did not arm a callback,\nso hif_dev is still alive there).\n\nThis was first reported by syzbot as a single, non-reproduced crash that was\nlater auto-obsoleted, and was independently rediscovered by the reFuzz fuzzer,\nwhich produced a C reproducer (USB-gadget connect/disconnect of an ath9k_htc\ndevice whose firmware download fails). The vulnerable code is unchanged and\nstill present in v7.1-rc6, where the slab-use-after-free reproduces under KASAN\nonce the (sub-microsecond) race window is widened.","publishedAt":"2026-08-10T12:03:40.355Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-19T16:34:18.694Z","severity":null,"assigner":"Linux","products":["Linux Linux"],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"47ed81aaa7f94d9808f4719e78a760c2ec1e6c86","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"48de0c6952192b0771fca468df4364d11ec74ad9","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"063497cc9f320ab71a7a937c3bc0a23e630aefe2","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"7f184ca38a90889f3f6665ff96748b95da39dbee","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"10b0ce629123a3737b4eda50188f73bb7be7b68b","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"48a69cedde7388294e4ea6fd804156cd62bc04fc","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"7c9046d92c4b9789c9d9d775e4fd5f34be64cb0a","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"dad9f96945d77ecd4708f730c06ef54dcd8cc057","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"4.4","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"4.4","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.265","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.216","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.183","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.6.148","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.12.101","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.42","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.1.6","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"7.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2","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/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c"]}],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47ed81aaa7f94d9808f4719e78a760c2ec1e6c86","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48de0c6952192b0771fca468df4364d11ec74ad9","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/063497cc9f320ab71a7a937c3bc0a23e630aefe2","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f184ca38a90889f3f6665ff96748b95da39dbee","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10b0ce629123a3737b4eda50188f73bb7be7b68b","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a69cedde7388294e4ea6fd804156cd62bc04fc","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c9046d92c4b9789c9d9d775e4fd5f34be64cb0a","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dad9f96945d77ecd4708f730c06ef54dcd8cc057"],"weaknesses":[],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:12:49.727Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2026/68xxx/CVE-2026-68363.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-68363","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2026-08-10T12:03:40.355Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-19T16:34:18.694Z","assignerShortName":"Linux","assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateReserved":"2026-07-30T09:28:09.385Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don't dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don't dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request\n\nath9k_hif_request_firmware() re-arms an asynchronous firmware load via\nrequest_firmware_nowait(), passing hif_dev as the completion context, and\nthen still dereferences hif_dev:\n\n\tdev_info(&hif_dev->udev->dev, \"ath9k_htc: Firmware %s requested\\n\",\n\t\t hif_dev->fw_name);\n\nThe re-armed callback ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb() runs on the \"events\"\nworkqueue and, when the firmware is missing, walks the retry chain into\nath9k_hif_usb_firmware_fail() -> complete_all(&hif_dev->fw_done). That\nreleases the wait_for_completion(&hif_dev->fw_done) in a concurrent\nath9k_hif_usb_disconnect(), which then kfree()s hif_dev. The trailing\ndev_info() in the frame that re-armed the request can therefore read freed\nmemory (hif_dev->udev, the first field of struct hif_device_usb):\n\n  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ath9k_hif_request_firmware\n  Read of size 8 ... by task kworker/...\n   ath9k_hif_request_firmware\n   ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb           drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1247\n   request_firmware_work_func\n  Allocated by ...:\n   ath9k_hif_usb_probe                 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c\n  Freed by ...:\n   ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect -> kfree   drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c\n\nThe fw_done barrier only makes disconnect wait for the firmware chain to\n*terminate*; it does not protect the outer ath9k_hif_request_firmware()\nframe that re-armed the request and keeps touching hif_dev afterwards.\n\nDrop the post-request dev_info(): it is the only use of hif_dev after the\nasync request is armed, and it is purely informational (the dev_err() on the\nfailure path runs only when request_firmware_nowait() did not arm a callback,\nso hif_dev is still alive there).\n\nThis was first reported by syzbot as a single, non-reproduced crash that was\nlater auto-obsoleted, and was independently rediscovered by the reFuzz fuzzer,\nwhich produced a C reproducer (USB-gadget connect/disconnect of an ath9k_htc\ndevice whose firmware download fails). The vulnerable code is unchanged and\nstill present in v7.1-rc6, where the slab-use-after-free reproduces under KASAN\nonce the (sub-microsecond) race window is widened."}],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"47ed81aaa7f94d9808f4719e78a760c2ec1e6c86","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"48de0c6952192b0771fca468df4364d11ec74ad9","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"063497cc9f320ab71a7a937c3bc0a23e630aefe2","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"7f184ca38a90889f3f6665ff96748b95da39dbee","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"10b0ce629123a3737b4eda50188f73bb7be7b68b","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"48a69cedde7388294e4ea6fd804156cd62bc04fc","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"7c9046d92c4b9789c9d9d775e4fd5f34be64cb0a","versionType":"git"},{"version":"e904cf6fe23022cde4e0ea9d41601411a315a3dc","status":"affected","lessThan":"dad9f96945d77ecd4708f730c06ef54dcd8cc057","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"4.4","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"4.4","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.265","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.216","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.183","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.6.148","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.12.101","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.42","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.1.6","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"7.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2","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/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c"]}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47ed81aaa7f94d9808f4719e78a760c2ec1e6c86"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48de0c6952192b0771fca468df4364d11ec74ad9"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/063497cc9f320ab71a7a937c3bc0a23e630aefe2"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f184ca38a90889f3f6665ff96748b95da39dbee"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/10b0ce629123a3737b4eda50188f73bb7be7b68b"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a69cedde7388294e4ea6fd804156cd62bc04fc"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7c9046d92c4b9789c9d9d775e4fd5f34be64cb0a"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dad9f96945d77ecd4708f730c06ef54dcd8cc057"}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"Linux","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateUpdated":"2026-08-19T16:34:18.694Z"},"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"operator":"OR","negate":false,"cpeMatch":[{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.4","versionEndExcluding":"5.10.265"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.4","versionEndExcluding":"5.15.216"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.4","versionEndExcluding":"6.1.183"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.4","versionEndExcluding":"6.6.148"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.4","versionEndExcluding":"6.12.101"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.4","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.42"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.4","versionEndExcluding":"7.1.6"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"4.4","versionEndExcluding":"7.2"}]}]}],"x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}}}}