* [CVE-2026-97541][MODERATE REGULAR] wifi: ath9k_htc: don't store usb_device_id [ Upstream
@ 2026-09-25 12:48 21% AL-KERNEL
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From: AL-KERNEL @ 2026-09-25 12:48 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: kernel-cve
CVE: CVE-2026-97541
Priority: MODERATE REGULAR
AL-KERNEL base severity: MODERATE
KPANIC flag: NO
Patch: wifi: ath9k_htc: don't store usb_device_id [ Upstream
Commit: 8e70a6785bd02cf9ef7fd21ebccf46a8ba23014e
Upstream patch: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=8e70a6785bd02cf9ef7fd21ebccf46a8ba23014e
Original CVE announcement: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-97541
Analysis date: Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:48:41 -0400
ActionableScore: 0
ActionableScore lower bound: unknown
Actionable bucket: Ordinary Moderate
Manual review required: NO
Summary:
No one-sentence report phrase was found.
======================================================================
ABOUT THIS REPORT
======================================================================
The original Linux kernel CVE announcement for CVE-2026-97541 is available here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-97541
The original announcement does not normally provide a security severity
estimate, CVSS assessment, or enough information to determine whether the
reported kernel bug represents a practically relevant security issue.
This report was generated by AL-KERNEL, an AI-assisted Linux kernel
vulnerability analysis system developed by Alexander Larkin. It combines
an autonomous classifier with LLM-assisted technical analysis and a
separate ActionableScore mechanism.
The purpose of this report is to prioritize Linux kernel CVEs before
manual review, identify cases that require prompt investigation, and
support automatic closure of issues that are unlikely to have meaningful
security impact.
Published priority for this report: MODERATE REGULAR
Manual review required: NO
A detailed explanation of the methodology and priority rules is included
at the end of this message.
======================================================================
AL-KERNEL CLASSIFICATION RESULT
======================================================================
CVE-2026-97541 MODERATE https://www.kernelcve.org/list/?q=CVE-2026-97541 CHECK WITH IMPACT FROM ORIG NN IMPORTANT Maybe valid. Check manually. Hints by AL-KERNEL: The best (paranoid) CVSS is 'AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H';*CWE-416;CWE-362;*CWE-664;Other CVSS 'AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H';BEST CVSS score: '5.8';DESCR 'A use after free can occur in the ath9k_htc USB driver because it stores a usb_device_id pointer beyond the USB probe callback. A dynamically registered USB ID is not guaranteed to remain valid after probe, while later firmware handling can read idProduct and driver_info through the stale pointer. This can cause a kernel crash or incorrect driver behavior if the dynamic ID is removed or replaced while asynchronous driver work is pending. For the CVSS the PR:L is used for the paranoid score because delegated USB administration capabilities or service accounts may provide dynamic ID management without full host administration. The issue is local and requires access to a matching USB device and the relevant USB control plane. Impact is at least local denial of service. Limited confidentiality or integrity impact is conservatively retained for manual review because this is a genuine UAF, but the patch does not demonstrate an arbitrary write or a direct privilege escalation primitive.';YES REQUIRES MANUAL CHECK; ,and ActionableScore result is Ordinary Moderate (with actual score 0) YES REMOTE USB SIMPLEFIX NETWORK LINUS LOWERED_FROM_HIGH_BASED_ON_GUESSCVSS DECREASED_TO_MODERATEREG_BASED_ON_ACTIONABLESCORELESSTHAN4 NO NO checked
======================================================================
ACTIONABLESCORE ANALYSIS
======================================================================
ActionableScore=0
PrimitiveClass=CLASS_B
RealUAF=YES
HostAdminRequired=YES
NamespaceScopedPrivilege=NO
ImportantCandidate=NO
ManualReview=RECOMMENDED
AutoDowngradeAllowed=YES
1. ActionableScore
* Raw conservative score: 0
* Conservative score: 0
* Raw paranoid score: 0
* Paranoid score: 0
* Final recommended bucket: **Ordinary Moderate**::
2. Signal breakdown
Positive signals:
* +2 Real UAF or lifetime violation. The driver stores the `usb_device_id` pointer received by probe and later dereferences it in firmware-selection and firmware-callback paths. A USB dynamic ID is not guaranteed to remain allocated after probe, so these uses can dereference a post-lifetime object.
Negative signals:
* -2 Full host-admin-equivalent privilege. Reaching the relevant dynamic-ID lifetime transition requires host-side administration of USB driver dynamic IDs, such as management of the driver `new_id` or `remove_id` state. The supplied evidence does not establish an ordinary unprivileged user path that can complete this operation.
Important non-awarded signals:
* Reliable kernel crash or strong DoS not awarded. The patch establishes stale reads of `idProduct` and `driver_info`, but does not document a reproducible Oops, panic, or host-wide failure.
* Controlled reclaim not demonstrated.
* Arbitrary or directed kernel write not demonstrated.
* Structured stale-object exploitation leverage not awarded. The stale object is a dynamic USB ID record and the visible stale uses consume scalar identification fields, not attacker-controlled callbacks, pointers, lengths, ownership state, or refcounts.
* Concrete repeated release or refcount mutation not established. The patch removes stale dereferences but does not show a second `put`, `free`, or refcount operation through the dangling pointer.
* Confidentiality and integrity impact not awarded. No disclosure path, unauthorized modification, or security-boundary bypass is established.
* Remote reachability not established. USB-device interaction and host-side USB dynamic-ID management are required.
* No hard-race penalty was applied. The supplied patch establishes a lifetime mismatch but does not prove that the required timing is unusually narrow or externally uncontrollable.
* No rare-hardware penalty was applied. ath9k_htc is USB WiFi hardware, but the supplied evidence does not establish an uncommon or physical-only attack prerequisite beyond the already-scored host administration requirement.
3. Reachability analysis
The vulnerable pointer originates from USB driver probe when the ath9k_htc driver matches a dynamically registered USB ID. The stale pointer can later be consumed during firmware-related processing after probe returns.
The complete triggering sequence requires host-side control of USB dynamic-ID lifetime. In normal Linux USB driver operation, creating or removing dynamic IDs through driver sysfs interfaces is an administrative operation over host-owned driver state. This supports `HostAdminRequired=YES`.
A matching USB device is also needed for the driver probe path. The supplied evidence does not establish that a container, user namespace, or network namespace can independently create, remove, and exercise host USB driver dynamic IDs. Therefore `NamespaceScopedPrivilege=NO`.
No prior privileged setup by a separate actor is needed if the attacker already has host-administrative USB-driver control. Conversely, without that control, the supplied patch does not establish a complete below-host-admin trigger path.
4. Primitive and severity interpretation
The exact primitive is a real use-after-free or stale post-lifetime dereference of `struct usb_device_id`. The pointer is saved in `hif_device_usb` during probe and is later read after the dynamic-ID object may have been removed.
This is not a repeated-release or refcount-mutation case. The visible stale operations read `driver_info` and `idProduct`. They do not perform a second lifetime mutation, invoke a callback from reclaimed storage, or write through the stale pointer.
The stale object is a constrained dynamic-ID metadata object rather than an actively reused structured object whose attacker-controlled fields drive pointer traversal, ownership processing, callback dispatch, or memory writes. The patch therefore establishes a real `CLASS_B` lifetime primitive, but not a `CLASS_A` controlled corruption primitive.
The practical demonstrated consequence is incorrect driver behavior or a possible kernel fault if the freed allocation is invalid or reused. Privilege escalation, arbitrary kernel read or write, confidentiality impact, and integrity impact remain speculative and are not supported by the visible stale-use operations.
`ImportantCandidate=NO` is appropriate because the stale reads are constrained, require host-administrative dynamic-ID control, and lack evidence of controlled reclaim, post-free structured reuse, write-like corruption, or boundary bypass. `AutoDowngradeAllowed=YES` is appropriate because this is a constrained Class B stale-read case without a concrete repeated refcount mutation or unresolved strong exploitation primitive.
Likely operational severity is low practical security relevance for ordinary threat models, while still deserving a targeted review because it is a genuine kernel lifetime defect.
5. One-sentence report phrase
A use-after-free in ath9k_htc can occur when firmware handling dereferences a stored USB dynamic-ID pointer after its lifetime ends, but the visible stale uses are limited to scalar identification fields and require host-administrative USB dynamic-ID management.
6. Manual review recommendation
MANUAL CHECK RECOMMENDED
A real UAF is directly established, but the supplied patch does not show controlled reclaim, a write primitive, a repeated lifetime mutation, or a below-host-admin trigger path.
7. Call-site confidence
Call-site confidence: medium
======================================================================
UPSTREAM PATCH SUMMARY
======================================================================
Patch: wifi: ath9k_htc: don't store usb_device_id [ Upstream
Commit: 8e70a6785bd02cf9ef7fd21ebccf46a8ba23014e
Upstream URL: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=8e70a6785bd02cf9ef7fd21ebccf46a8ba23014e
Changed files:
drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.c
drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/hif_usb.h
Diff excerpt:
Not included in this email. See the upstream URL for the full patch.
Full patch:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=8e70a6785bd02cf9ef7fd21ebccf46a8ba23014e
======================================================================
DETAILED REPORT METHODOLOGY
======================================================================
The original Linux kernel CVE announcement for CVE-2026-97541 can be found here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-97541
The original CVE announcement normally does not include a security-level
estimate. In particular, it may not contain a CVSS assessment, an impact
level, or enough information to determine whether the reported bug is a
practically relevant security issue. One purpose of this parallel CVE list
is to provide that missing technical and prioritization information.
The original goal of the AL-KERNEL project was to prioritize Linux kernel
CVE analysis automatically before manual review. The system can also help
identify non-security issues that may be suitable for automatic closure.
This report was generated by AL-KERNEL, an AI-assisted Linux kernel
vulnerability analysis system developed by Alexander Larkin.
The first analysis stage combines an autonomous classifier with additional
LLM-based analysis. The autonomous classifier runs locally on a CPU and is
based on a backpropagation neural network. Together, these mechanisms
produce a technical vulnerability description, identify likely weakness
types, estimate CVSS severity, and provide input for ActionableScore.
Two CVSS estimates are retained because incomplete kernel vulnerability
information often permits more than one defensible interpretation:
Conservative CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
The Best / paranoid CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
The Best / paranoid CVSS score: 5.8
The conservative vector represents a lower-impact interpretation.
The Best/paranoid vector intentionally represents a plausible upper-bound
interpretation and should not automatically be treated as demonstrated
real-world impact.
CVSS may also need to be adjusted for a particular Linux deployment,
because actual reachability, privileges, enabled kernel configuration,
hardware, namespaces, exposed device nodes, and other environmental
conditions can differ significantly between systems.
A separate ActionableScore mechanism evaluates practical remediation
urgency. Its analysis may include reachability, attack prerequisites,
subsystem exposure, memory-corruption characteristics, denial-of-service
reliability, and possible confidentiality, integrity, or
privilege-escalation impact.
Conservative ActionableScore: unknown
Paranoid ActionableScore: 0
The final base severity is taken directly from the second tab-separated
field of the AL-KERNEL classification result. ActionableScore does not
replace or independently override that final AL-KERNEL decision, and
if ActionableScore adjusted impact level of ALKERNEL, then you would see
self-readable flags above like INCREASED_TO_HIGH_BASED_ON_ACTIONABLESCOREHIGHEREQTHAN7.
For an AL-KERNEL result of MODERATE, this report uses the following
additional presentation split:
ActionableScore below 5 -> MODERATE REGULAR
ActionableScore 5 or more -> MODERATE 7.0
The distinction between MODERATE REGULAR and MODERATE 7.0 makes it
possible to identify Moderate issues that should receive manual analysis
and fixes before lower-priority MODERATE REGULAR issues. In many cases,
MODERATE REGULAR fixes may wait for a later rebase or routine update.
There is one override in which MODERATE REGULAR becomes MODERATE 7.0
even when the ActionableScore is below 5. When the AL-KERNEL result
contains the KPANIC flag, a MODERATE result is always presented as
MODERATE 7.0. The KPANIC flag selected with few regexps without
usage of AI at all, so it helps to detect cases when Kernel Crash happens
and similar (to filter False-Negative results from the LLM usage).
KPANIC indicates that a reliable kernel crash, kernel panic, or similarly
serious kernel availability impact was identified by the classification
workflow.
AL-KERNEL base severity for this report: MODERATE
KPANIC detected for this report: NO
Published priority for this report (same as in Subject): MODERATE REGULAR
These results are intended to support engineering triage. They are
machine-generated estimates, and cases marked for manual review should
be validated by a human security engineer before final disposition.
For more info read docs linked from here: https://kernelcve.org/
(and you can submit you own patch there to generate such a report
for non-existant CVE-id yet).
Note that in many cases this AI tool selects higher severity, than
real is (means you can expect Importants instead of Moderate 7.0 or
Moderates 7.0 instead of regular Moderates). If you see such cases,
please use reply email interface to add additional manual analyses
info to this particular CVE.
And please, please, let me know when you see Lows instead of Importants
or Important instead of Low (because particular for such cases I
need to tune this AI tool to make it better for this one and next similar).
My contact email for such notifications is [email protected] (and both
send reply to CVE record itself too and see "reply" button below for howto reply).
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