Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rtlwifi: Fix global...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: rtlwifi: Fix global-out-of-bounds bug in _rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit()
There is a global-out-of-bounds reported by KASAN:
BUG: KASAN: global-out-of-bounds in
_rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte.part.0+0x3d/0x84 [rtl8821ae]
Read of size 1 at addr ffffffffa0773c43 by task NetworkManager/411
CPU: 6 PID: 411 Comm: NetworkManager Tainted: G D
6.1.0-rc8+ #144 e15588508517267d37
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009),
Call Trace:
...
kasan_report+0xbb/0x1c0
_rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte.part.0+0x3d/0x84 [rtl8821ae]
rtl8821ae_phy_bb_config.cold+0x346/0x641 [rtl8821ae]
rtl8821ae_hw_init+0x1f5e/0x79b0 [rtl8821ae]
...
The root cause of the problem is that the comparison order of
"prate_section" in _rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit() is wrong. The
_rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() is used to compare the first n bytes of the two
strings from tail to head, which causes the problem. In the
_rtl8812ae_phy_set_txpower_limit(), it was originally intended to meet
this requirement by carefully designing the comparison order.
For example, "pregulation" and "pbandwidth" are compared in order of
length from small to large, first is 3 and last is 4. However, the
comparison order of "prate_section" dose not obey such order requirement,
therefore when "prate_section" is "HT", when comparing from tail to head,
it will lead to access out of bounds in _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte(). As
mentioned above, the _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() has the same function as
strcmp(), so just strcmp() is enough.
Fix it by removing _rtl8812ae_eq_n_byte() and use strcmp() barely.
Although it can be fixed by adjusting the comparison order of
"prate_section", this may cause the value of "rate_section" to not be
from 0 to 5. In addition, commit "21e4b0726dc6" not only moved driver
from staging to regular tree, but also added setting txpower limit
function during the driver config phase, so the problem was introduced
by this commit.
Impact
A read operation accesses a memory location beyond the intended buffer boundary. Typical impact: sensitive data disclosure or crash.
CVE-2022-50279 has a CVSS score of 7.1 (High). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-50279? CVE-2022-50279 is a high-severity out-of-bounds read vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet. A read operation accesses a memory location beyond the intended buffer boundary.
- How severe is CVE-2022-50279? CVE-2022-50279 has a CVSS score of 7.1 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-50279? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2022-50279 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2022-50279 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-50279 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-50279 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.