CVE-2026-23444 (GCVE-0-2026-23444)
Vulnerability from cvelistv5
Published
2026-04-03 15:15
Modified
2026-08-05 12:21
Severity ?
7.8 (High) - CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: always free skb on ieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() failure ieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() has three error paths, but only two of them free the skb. The first error path (ieee80211_tx_prepare() returning TX_DROP) does not free it, while invoke_tx_handlers() failure and the fragmentation check both do. Add kfree_skb() to the first error path so all three are consistent, and remove the now-redundant frees in callers (ath9k, mt76, mac80211_hwsim) to avoid double-free. Document the skb ownership guarantee in the function's kdoc.
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
Linux Linux Version: 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced
Version: 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced
Version: 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced
Version: 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced
Version: 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced
Version: 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced
Version: 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced
Version: 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced
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{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/channel.c",
            "drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/scan.c",
            "drivers/net/wireless/virtual/mac80211_hwsim.c",
            "include/net/mac80211.h",
            "net/mac80211/tx.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
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              "version": "06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced",
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        },
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          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/channel.c",
            "drivers/net/wireless/mediatek/mt76/scan.c",
            "drivers/net/wireless/virtual/mac80211_hwsim.c",
            "include/net/mac80211.h",
            "net/mac80211/tx.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "3.13"
            },
            {
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              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
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              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "5.10.258",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "5.15.209",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.1.175",
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            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.6.136",
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            },
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              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.12.84",
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            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.18.20",
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            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.19.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.19.10",
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            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.0",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
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              "cpeMatch": [
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                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "5.10.258",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "3.13",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "5.15.209",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "3.13",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.175",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "3.13",
                  "vulnerable": true
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                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
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                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
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                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
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                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
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                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.19.10",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "3.13",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.0",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "3.13",
                  "vulnerable": true
                }
              ],
              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: mac80211: always free skb on ieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() failure\n\nieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() has three error paths, but only two of them\nfree the skb. The first error path (ieee80211_tx_prepare() returning\nTX_DROP) does not free it, while invoke_tx_handlers() failure and the\nfragmentation check both do.\n\nAdd kfree_skb() to the first error path so all three are consistent,\nand remove the now-redundant frees in callers (ath9k, mt76,\nmac80211_hwsim) to avoid double-free.\n\nDocument the skb ownership guarantee in the function\u0027s kdoc."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "baseScore": 7.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:L - The vulnerable mac80211 helper is reached from local nl80211 operations such as setting wireless parameters and triggering hardware scans, not from received WiFi frames. A local attacker can drive affected scan paths through the kernel\u0027s generic netlink API.\nAC:L - The failure path can be triggered deterministically on an affected device by choosing scan parameters that produce a directed, oversized probe request with a low fragmentation threshold. No race or condition outside the attacker\u0027s control is required once the affected driver/path is available.\nPR:L - The reachable nl80211 commands are guarded by GENL_UNS_ADMIN_PERM/CAP_NET_ADMIN in the relevant network namespace, which is low privilege for CVSS purposes and can be reachable through user namespaces in plausible deployments. It does not require full init-namespace root.\nUI:N - After obtaining the needed local privileges, the attacker can issue the netlink operations directly. No separate victim action is required.\nS:U - The bug corrupts kernel networking memory within the same kernel security authority. It does not cross a VM, hypervisor, or separate security-scope boundary.\nC:H - The vulnerable failure path creates a double-free/use-after-free of an sk_buff, which is kernel heap memory corruption. Such corruption can plausibly be exploited for kernel memory disclosure, so confidentiality impact is high.\nI:H - The double-free/use-after-free can plausibly be turned into kernel heap manipulation and control-flow or data corruption. Under the required overestimate rule, this supports high integrity impact.\nA:H - Even without full exploitation, the double-free/use-after-free can trigger slab corruption, warnings, oopses, or kernel panic. Availability impact is therefore high."
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T12:21:47.685Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/905ef207d5ed99ca64adfe39fba9ac46e434327a"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ef8ca1c164786da24169af155c1ca1ff1353cf8"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a779d1f480e83720b5384adf165604e7ee226bd"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f77b51bcee7be2bb686b5f7a2d4a1921e4bdb9f4"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b4d27acafaeab478fd24f79ad6e593a892828b9"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06e769dddcbeb3baf2ce346273b53dd61fdbecf4"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50f1b690b4868923fbd242298def2fb88662f108"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5ad6ab61cbd89afdb60881f6274f74328af3ee9"
        }
      ],
      "title": "wifi: mac80211: always free skb on ieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() failure",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-23444",
    "datePublished": "2026-04-03T15:15:28.464Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-01-13T15:37:46.019Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T12:21:47.685Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}


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