]> git.ipfire.org Git - thirdparty/kernel/linux.git/commitdiff
wifi: ath9k: hif_usb: don't dereference hif_dev after re-arming firmware request
authorCheng Yongkang <teel4res@gmail.com>
Fri, 5 Jun 2026 15:32:10 +0000 (08:32 -0700)
committerJeff Johnson <jeff.johnson@oss.qualcomm.com>
Thu, 2 Jul 2026 21:05:00 +0000 (14:05 -0700)
ath9k_hif_request_firmware() re-arms an asynchronous firmware load via
request_firmware_nowait(), passing hif_dev as the completion context, and
then still dereferences hif_dev:

dev_info(&hif_dev->udev->dev, "ath9k_htc: Firmware %s requested\n",
 hif_dev->fw_name);

The re-armed callback ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb() runs on the "events"
workqueue and, when the firmware is missing, walks the retry chain into
ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_fail() -> complete_all(&hif_dev->fw_done). That
releases the wait_for_completion(&hif_dev->fw_done) in a concurrent
ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect(), which then kfree()s hif_dev. The trailing
dev_info() in the frame that re-armed the request can therefore read freed
memory (hif_dev->udev, the first field of struct hif_device_usb):

  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ath9k_hif_request_firmware
  Read of size 8 ... by task kworker/...
   ath9k_hif_request_firmware
   ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb           drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c:1247
   request_firmware_work_func
  Allocated by ...:
   ath9k_hif_usb_probe                 drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c
  Freed by ...:
   ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect -> kfree   drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c

The fw_done barrier only makes disconnect wait for the firmware chain to
*terminate*; it does not protect the outer ath9k_hif_request_firmware()
frame that re-armed the request and keeps touching hif_dev afterwards.

Drop the post-request dev_info(): it is the only use of hif_dev after the
async request is armed, and it is purely informational (the dev_err() on the
failure path runs only when request_firmware_nowait() did not arm a callback,
so hif_dev is still alive there).

This was first reported by syzbot as a single, non-reproduced crash that was
later auto-obsoleted, and was independently rediscovered by the reFuzz fuzzer,
which produced a C reproducer (USB-gadget connect/disconnect of an ath9k_htc
device whose firmware download fails). The vulnerable code is unchanged and
still present in v7.1-rc6, where the slab-use-after-free reproduces under KASAN
once the (sub-microsecond) race window is widened.

Fixes: e904cf6fe230 ("ath9k_htc: introduce support for different fw versions")
Reported-by: syzbot+50122cbc2874b1eb25b0@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=50122cbc2874b1eb25b0
Signed-off-by: Cheng Yongkang <teel4res@gmail.com>
Acked-by: Toke Høiland-Jørgensen <toke@toke.dk>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260605153210.20471-1-1020691186@qq.com
Signed-off-by: Jeff Johnson <jeff.johnson@oss.qualcomm.com>
drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c

index 515267f48d803e65fc1da432fe40efdcc6231bbc..47f904e7e65297ca4a3c112b480ce6c09c1970a5 100644 (file)
@@ -1215,15 +1215,10 @@ static int ath9k_hif_request_firmware(struct hif_device_usb *hif_dev,
        ret = request_firmware_nowait(THIS_MODULE, true, hif_dev->fw_name,
                                      &hif_dev->udev->dev, GFP_KERNEL,
                                      hif_dev, ath9k_hif_usb_firmware_cb);
-       if (ret) {
+       if (ret)
                dev_err(&hif_dev->udev->dev,
                        "ath9k_htc: Async request for firmware %s failed\n",
                        hif_dev->fw_name);
-               return ret;
-       }
-
-       dev_info(&hif_dev->udev->dev, "ath9k_htc: Firmware %s requested\n",
-                hif_dev->fw_name);
 
        return ret;
 }