CVE-2022-50881

A use-after-free flaw was discovered in the ath9k USB Wi-Fi driver in the Linux kernel. During the disconnect and deinitialization sequence (ath9k_hif_usb_disconnect()), the driver could attempt to access its private data (drv_priv) after it has already been freed by the hardware teardown call (ieee80211_free_hw() via ath9k_htc_hw_deinit()). This improper ordering can cause the kernel to reference freed memory, leading to undefined behavior including kernel warnings or crashes under certain conditions.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.