# CVE-2022-49942: wifi: mac80211: Don't finalize CSA in IBSS mode if state is disconnected

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's mac80211 module can cause a system crash when processing channel switch announcements in disconnected IBSS mode.

- **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:** 18 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49942, GHSA-8775-7cpf-rm3f, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49942

## What is CVE-2022-49942?

CVE-2022-49942 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Jun 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:

wifi: mac80211: Don't finalize CSA in IBSS mode if state is disconnected

When we are not connected to a channel, sending channel "switch"
announcement doesn't make any sense.

The BSS list is empty in that case. This causes the for loop in
cfg80211_get_bss() to be bypassed, so the function returns NULL
(check line 1424 of net/wireless/scan.c), causing the WARN_ON()
in ieee80211_ibss_csa_beacon() to get triggered (check line 500
of net/mac80211/ibss.c), which was consequently reported on the
syzkaller dashboard.

Thus, check if we have an existing connection before generating
the CSA beacon in ieee80211_ibss_finish_csa().

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49942?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49942?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49942 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49942 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-2022-49942 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49942 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Jun 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-2022-49942 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-2022-49942/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49942/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49942
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49942
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49942

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49942/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.