CVE-2026-23444
Published: April 4, 2026Last modified: May 1, 2026
Description
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.
Severity score breakdown
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base score | 5.5 |
| Attack Vector | LOCAL |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | LOW |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | NONE |
| Integrity impact | NONE |
| Availability impact | HIGH |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
Status
| Product | Release | Package | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaquita Linux | 23 LTS | linux-lts | Vulnerable (6.1.164-r0) |
| 25 LTS | linux-lts | Fixed (6.12.85-r0) | |
| Stream | linux-lts | Fixed (6.12.85-r0) |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06e769dddcbeb3baf2ce346273b53dd61fdbecf4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b4d27acafaeab478fd24f79ad6e593a892828b9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50f1b690b4868923fbd242298def2fb88662f108
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5ad6ab61cbd89afdb60881f6274f74328af3ee9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f77b51bcee7be2bb686b5f7a2d4a1921e4bdb9f4