usb driver security

USB driver security involves validating hardware assumptions before a driver binds to a device. A recent example is CVE-2026-23312 in the Linux kernel's kaweth USB network driver, which failed to verify that a device exposed the expected USB endpoints. This created a crash-prone path if a malicious or malformed device presented an unexpected layout. The fix checks the device's endpoints first to prevent dereferencing the wrong ones. This highlights the importance of endpoint validation in preventing kernel crashes and ensuring robust USB driver security. While the example is from Linux, the principle applies broadly to USB driver development and security practices.