CVE-2026-80947

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

wifi: rtl8xxxu: fix use-after-free from rx_urb_wq on stop

rtl8xxxu arms rx_urb_wq from the RX completion path: rtl8xxxu_rx_complete() hands the URB to rtl8xxxu_queue_rx_urb(), which queues it on rx_urb_pending_list and, once the list grows past RTL8XXXU_RX_URB_PENDING_WATER, schedules rx_urb_wq. The worker rtl8xxxu_rx_urb_work() drains rx_urb_pending_list, recovers priv through container_of, and resubmits each URB through rtl8xxxu_submit_rx_urb(), which anchors it on rx_anchor and dereferences priv->udev.

rtl8xxxu_stop() cancels the sibling work items (c2hcmd_work, ra_watchdog, update_beacon_work) but never cancels rx_urb_wq, so a worker armed during the last burst of RX traffic can run rtl8xxxu_rx_urb_work() after rtl8xxxu_disconnect() has called ieee80211_free_hw(), which frees priv, producing a use-after-free. The window opens under active RX traffic (pending count above the watermark) followed by a disconnect.

There are two teardown races to close:

• rtl8xxxu_queue_rx_urb() decided whether to enqueue under rx_urb_lock but called schedule_work() after dropping the lock. A completion that observed shutdown == false and released the lock could then call schedule_work() after rtl8xxxu_stop() had set shutdown and cancel_work_sync() had already returned, arming the worker to run after the teardown. Move schedule_work() under the same !shutdown branch so the arming decision is atomic with the shutdown check.

• rtl8xxxu_rx_urb_work() anchors every URB it drained back onto rx_anchor through rtl8xxxu_submit_rx_urb(). A worker still running when usb_kill_anchored_urbs(&priv->rx_anchor) returned would submit a URB that escaped the kill. In rtl8xxxu_stop(), call cancel_work_sync(&priv->rx_urb_wq) before the kill so the worker is drained first.

After priv->shutdown is set under rx_urb_lock, completions can no longer queue rx_urb_wq. cancel_work_sync() then drains the last queued or running worker, and the following usb_kill_anchored_urbs() kills the URBs it may have submitted.

rtl8xxxu_disconnect() is covered because ieee80211_unregister_hw() guarantees .stop() runs for a live interface before ieee80211_free_hw() frees priv. The probe error path needs no cancel: rx_urb_wq is INIT_WORK()d there but cannot have been scheduled, since no URB is submitted before ieee80211_register_hw() succeeds.

This bug was found by static analysis.

Affected Software

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/620acb1e8037b73a457dc8ef20fc23fc7adcb405
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c080026ecc17eecb103f8927c64ea73a74bb818
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/800d2b490a9af1e7132a3564c2ad5a81292e5b40
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/972ab8b9c08f3eb3fa535082de2950dd93604dfd