CVE-2022-49539 rtw89: ser: fix CAM leaks occurring in L2 reset
A memory leak in the rtw89 Wi-Fi driver during system error recovery can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.
- 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
What is CVE-2022-49539?
CVE-2022-49539 is a medium-severity memory corruption 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:
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) <(A) 1 leak after L2 reset if non-sec connection>
The ieee80211_restart_hw() flow (under connection) -> ieee80211 reconfig -> add interface (acquire 1) -> leave ips (acquire 1) -> connection (occupy (A) + 2) <(B) 1 more leak>
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.
Weakness: CWE-401
Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49539?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2022-49539?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2022-49539 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49539 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49539, GHSA-8vgm-mf5m-39hh, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2022-49539, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49539.