CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-93805

Low risk· EPSS 5%
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Low risk
0.17%

5th percentile - higher than 5% of all known CVEs

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the cfg80211_rx_mlme_mgmt() and cfg80211_tx_mlme_mgmt() functions do not properly validate the length of management frames before accessing fields based on the subtype, which can lead to out-of-bounds reads. The patch adds frame-control length gating and validates the minimum frame size for each subtype.

Risk Assessment

This vulnerability could be exploited by an attacker to cause a kernel panic or leak sensitive information, potentially leading to denial of service (DoS) or privilege escalation if memory contents are exposed.

Recommendation

Immediately update the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for cfg80211 MLME frame length validation. Also monitor security advisories from your kernel distributor for patched releases.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

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Original NVD description (English source)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: cfg80211: validate rx/tx MLME callback frame lengths before access cfg80211_rx_mlme_mgmt() and cfg80211_tx_mlme_mgmt() call tracepoints before rejecting frames shorter than the frame-control field. After that, they only require len >= 2 before dispatching into subtype handlers that assume their fixed fields are present. The frames that trip this are not shorter than 2 bytes; they are short relative to their subtype. mwifiex is a concrete in-tree example on the length side: mwifiex_process_mgmt_packet() only requires a 4-address ieee80211_hdr plus the 2-byte firmware length prefix before handing the frame to cfg80211_rx_mlme_mgmt(). After stripping the length prefix and removing addr4, pkt_len can be exactly 24: a bare 3-address management header with no reason-code body. The existing WARN_ON(len < 2) does not fire on such a frame, and cfg80211_process_deauth() then reads u.deauth.reason_code as a two-byte access starting at offset 24, immediately past the 24-byte buffer. Add a frame-control length gate, then validate each subtype's minimum frame size in an if/else-if chain that mirrors the dispatch logic. Trace only after the frame is known to be well-formed. Side effects of this change: - The WARN_ON(len < 2) is dropped. It only guarded the frame_control read, never the subtype fixed fields, and it does not fire on the frames that actually trigger the out-of-bounds read (which are >= 2). The len >= 2 check is kept as the guard before dereferencing frame_control, but without the warning: these are exported callbacks and a malformed frame from a driver should be dropped silently rather than backtraced. - cfg80211_tx_mlme_mgmt() previously routed every non-deauth subtype through disassociation handling; it now silently ignores unrecognised subtypes.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS