In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: brcmfmac: Fix potential shift-out-of-bounds in brcmf_fw_alloc_request()
This patch fixes a shift-out-of-bounds in brcmfmac that occurs in BIT(chiprev) when a 'chiprev' provided by the device is too large. It should also not be equal to or greater than BITS_PER_TYPE(u32) as we do bitwise AND with a u32 variable and BIT(chiprev). The patch adds a check that makes the function return NULL if that is the case. Note that the NULL case is later handled by the bus-specific caller, brcmf_usb_probe_cb() or brcmf_usb_reset_resume(), for example.
Found by a modified version of syzkaller.
UBSAN: shift-out-of-bounds in drivers/net/wireless/broadcom/brcm80211/brcmfmac/firmware.c shift exponent 151055786 is too large for 64-bit type 'long unsigned int' CPU: 0 PID: 1885 Comm: kworker/0:2 Tainted: G O 5.14.0+ #132 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.12.1-0-ga5cab58e9a3f-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Workqueue: usb_hub_wq hub_event Call Trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x57/0x7d ubsan_epilogue+0x5/0x40 __ubsan_handle_shift_out_of_bounds.cold+0x53/0xdb ? lock_chain_count+0x20/0x20 brcmf_fw_alloc_request.cold+0x19/0x3ea ? brcmf_fw_get_firmwares+0x250/0x250 ? brcmf_usb_ioctl_resp_wait+0x1a7/0x1f0 brcmf_usb_get_fwname+0x114/0x1a0 ? brcmf_usb_reset_resume+0x120/0x120 ? number+0x6c4/0x9a0 brcmf_c_process_clm_blob+0x168/0x590 ? put_dec+0x90/0x90 ? enable_ptr_key_workfn+0x20/0x20 ? brcmf_common_pd_remove+0x50/0x50 ? rcu_read_lock_sched_held+0xa1/0xd0 brcmf_c_preinit_dcmds+0x673/0xc40 ? brcmf_c_set_joinpref_default+0x100/0x100 ? rcu_read_lock_sched_held+0xa1/0xd0 ? rcu_read_lock_bh_held+0xb0/0xb0 ? lock_acquire+0x19d/0x4e0 ? find_held_lock+0x2d/0x110 ? brcmf_usb_deq+0x1cc/0x260 ? mark_held_locks+0x9f/0xe0 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x273/0x3e0 ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x47/0x50 ? trace_hardirqs_on+0x1c/0x120 ? brcmf_usb_deq+0x1a7/0x260 ? brcmf_usb_rx_fill_all+0x5a/0xf0 brcmf_attach+0x246/0xd40 ? wiphy_new_nm+0x1476/0x1d50 ? kmemdup+0x30/0x40 brcmf_usb_probe+0x12de/0x1690 ? brcmf_usbdev_qinit.constprop.0+0x470/0x470 usb_probe_interface+0x25f/0x710 really_probe+0x1be/0xa90 __driver_probe_device+0x2ab/0x460 ? usb_match_id.part.0+0x88/0xc0 driver_probe_device+0x49/0x120 __device_attach_driver+0x18a/0x250 ? driver_allows_async_probing+0x120/0x120 bus_for_each_drv+0x123/0x1a0 ? bus_rescan_devices+0x20/0x20 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x273/0x3e0 ? trace_hardirqs_on+0x1c/0x120 __device_attach+0x207/0x330 ? device_bind_driver+0xb0/0xb0 ? kobject_uevent_env+0x230/0x12c0 bus_probe_device+0x1a2/0x260 device_add+0xa61/0x1ce0 ? __mutex_unlock_slowpath+0xe7/0x660 ? __fw_devlink_link_to_suppliers+0x550/0x550 usb_set_configuration+0x984/0x1770 ? kernfs_create_link+0x175/0x230 usb_generic_driver_probe+0x69/0x90 usb_probe_device+0x9c/0x220 really_probe+0x1be/0xa90 __driver_probe_device+0x2ab/0x460 driver_probe_device+0x49/0x120 __device_attach_driver+0x18a/0x250 ? driver_allows_async_probing+0x120/0x120 bus_for_each_drv+0x123/0x1a0 ? bus_rescan_devices+0x20/0x20 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x273/0x3e0 ? trace_hardirqs_on+0x1c/0x120 __device_attach+0x207/0x330 ? device_bind_driver+0xb0/0xb0 ? kobject_uevent_env+0x230/0x12c0 bus_probe_device+0x1a2/0x260 device_add+0xa61/0x1ce0 ? __fw_devlink_link_to_suppliers+0x550/0x550 usb_new_device.cold+0x463/0xf66 ? hub_disconnect+0x400/0x400 ? _raw_spin_unlock_irq+0x24/0x30 hub_event+0x10d5/0x3330 ? hub_port_debounce+0x280/0x280 ? __lock_acquire+0x1671/0x5790 ? wq_calc_node_cpumask+0x170/0x2a0 ? lock_release+0x640/0x640 ? rcu_read_lock_sched_held+0xa1/0xd0 ? rcu_read_lock_bh_held+0xb0/0xb0 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x273/0x3e0 process_one_work+0x873/0x13e0 ? lock_release+0x640/0x640 ? pwq_dec_nr_in_flight+0x320/0x320 ? rwlock_bug.part.0+0x90/0x90 worker_thread+0x8b/0xd10 ? __kthread_parkme+0xd9/0x1d0 ? pr ---truncated---
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux / linux_kernel | 4.5 | 4.9.337 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 4.10 | 4.14.305 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 4.15 | 4.19.270 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 4.20 | 5.4.229 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 5.5 | 5.10.163 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 5.11 | 5.15.86 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 5.16 | 6.0.16 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.1 | 6.1.2 |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.