# CVE-2022-49235: ath9k_htc: fix uninit value bugs

> Uninitialized memory in the ath9k_htc driver allows local attackers to leak kernel memory contents via USB information leaks.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49235, GHSA-3w7q-wchx-rf5p, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49235

## What is CVE-2022-49235?

CVE-2022-49235 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ath9k_htc: fix uninit value bugs

Syzbot reported 2 KMSAN bugs in ath9k. All of them are caused by missing
field initialization.

In htc_connect_service() svc_meta_len and pad are not initialized. Based
on code it looks like in current skb there is no service data, so simply
initialize svc_meta_len to 0.

htc_issue_send() does not initialize htc_frame_hdr::control array. Based
on firmware code, it will initialize it by itself, so simply zero whole
array to make KMSAN happy

Fail logs:

BUG: KMSAN: kernel-usb-infoleak in usb_submit_urb+0x6c1/0x2aa0 drivers/usb/core/urb.c:430
 usb_submit_urb+0x6c1/0x2aa0 drivers/usb/core/urb.c:430
 hif_usb_send_regout drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:127 [inline]
 hif_usb_send+0x5f0/0x16f0 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:479
 htc_issue_send drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_hst.c:34 [inline]
 htc_connect_service+0x143e/0x1960 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_hst.c:275
...

Uninit was created at:
 slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slab.h:524 [inline]
 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3251 [inline]
 __kmalloc_node_track_caller+0xe0c/0x1510 mm/slub.c:4974
 kmalloc_reserve net/core/skbuff.c:354 [inline]
 __alloc_skb+0x545/0xf90 net/core/skbuff.c:426
 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1126 [inline]
 htc_connect_service+0x1029/0x1960 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_hst.c:258
...

Bytes 4-7 of 18 are uninitialized
Memory access of size 18 starts at ffff888027377e00

BUG: KMSAN: kernel-usb-infoleak in usb_submit_urb+0x6c1/0x2aa0 drivers/usb/core/urb.c:430
 usb_submit_urb+0x6c1/0x2aa0 drivers/usb/core/urb.c:430
 hif_usb_send_regout drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:127 [inline]
 hif_usb_send+0x5f0/0x16f0 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:479
 htc_issue_send drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_hst.c:34 [inline]
 htc_connect_service+0x143e/0x1960 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_hst.c:275
...

Uninit was created at:
 slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slab.h:524 [inline]
 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3251 [inline]
 __kmalloc_node_track_caller+0xe0c/0x1510 mm/slub.c:4974
 kmalloc_reserve net/core/skbuff.c:354 [inline]
 __alloc_skb+0x545/0xf90 net/core/skbuff.c:426
 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1126 [inline]
 htc_connect_service+0x1029/0x1960 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_hst.c:258
...

Bytes 16-17 of 18 are uninitialized
Memory access of size 18 starts at ffff888027377e00

Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49235?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49235?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49235 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49235 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-49235 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49235 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49235 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49235/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49235/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49235
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49235
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49235

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49235/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
