mac80211: fix potential double free on mesh join
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 14 fixed, 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-415 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mac80211: fix potential double free on mesh join While commit 6a01afcf8468 ("mac80211: mesh: Free ie data when leaving mesh") fixed a memory leak on mesh leave / teardown it introduced a potential memory corruption caused by a double free when rejoining the mesh: ieee80211_leave_mesh() -> kfree(sdata->u.mesh.ie); ... ieee80211_join_mesh() -> copy_mesh_setup() -> old_ie = ifmsh->ie; -> kfree(old_ie); This double free / kernel panics can be reproduced by using wpa_supplicant with an encrypted mesh (if set up without encryption via "iw" then ifmsh->ie is always NULL, which avoids this issue). And then calling: $ iw dev mesh0 mesh leave $ iw dev mesh0 mesh join my-mesh Note that typically these commands are not used / working when using wpa_supplicant. And it seems that wpa_supplicant or wpa_cli are going through a NETDEV_DOWN/NETDEV_UP cycle between a mesh leave and mesh join where the NETDEV_UP resets the mesh.ie to NULL via a memcpy of default_mesh_setup in cfg80211_netdev_notifier_call, which then avoids the memory corruption, too. The issue was first observed in an application which was not using wpa_supplicant but "Senf" instead, which implements its own calls to nl80211. Fixing the issue by removing the kfree()'ing of the mesh IE in the mesh join function and leaving it solely up to the mesh leave to free the mesh IE.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4.9.233 to before 4.9.309; 4.14.192 to before 4.14.274; 4.19.137 to before 4.19.237; 5.4.56 to before 5.4.188; 4.4.233 to before 4.5; 5.7.13 to before 5.8 | 4.9.309, 4.14.274, 4.19.237, 5.4.188, 4.5, 5.8 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.8 and later | 4.9.309, 4.14.274, 4.19.237, 5.4.188, 5.10.109, 5.15.32, 5.16.18, 5.17.1, 5.18 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.9.233 to before 4.9.309; 4.14.192 to before 4.14.274; 4.19.137 to before 4.19.237; 5.4.56 to before 5.4.188; 4.4.233 to before 4.5; 5.7.13 to before 5.8 Fixed in 4.9.309, 4.14.274, 4.19.237, 5.4.188, 4.5, 5.8 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.8 and later Fixed in 4.9.309, 4.14.274, 4.19.237, 5.4.188, 5.10.109, 5.15.32, 5.16.18, 5.17.1, 5.18 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.4.233 to before 4.5; 4.9.233 to before 4.9.309; 4.14.192 to before 4.14.274; 4.19.137 to before 4.19.237; 5.4.56 to before 5.4.188; 5.7.13 to before 5.10.109; 5.11 to before 5.15.32; 5.16 to before 5.16.18; 5.17 to before 5.17.1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.4.233 to before 4.5; 4.9.233 to before 4.9.309; 4.14.192 to before 4.14.274; 4.19.137 to before 4.19.237; 5.4.56 to before 5.4.188; 5.7.13 to before 5.10.109; 5.11 to before 5.15.32; 5.16 to before 5.16.18; 5.17 to before 5.17.1 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.9.309, 4.14.274, 4.19.237, 5.4.188, 4.5, 5.8
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.9.309, 4.14.274, 4.19.237, 5.4.188, 5.10.109, 5.15.32, 5.16.18, 5.17.1, 5.18
Red Hat 6 advisories
- RHSA-2026:1886 Released 2026-02-04 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v.8.4) bpftool-4.18.0-305.184.1.el8_4, kernel-4.18.0-305.184.1.el8_4, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-305.184.1.el8_4 +14
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS EXTENSION (v.8.4) bpftool-4.18.0-305.184.1.el8_4, kernel-4.18.0-305.184.1.el8_4, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-305.184.1.el8_4 +14
- RHSA-2026:1494 Released 2026-01-28 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.0) kernel-debug-devel-5.14.0-70.163.1.el9_0, kernel-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-70.163.1.el9_0, kernel-devel-5.14.0-70.163.1.el9_0 +5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.9.0) bpftool-5.14.0-70.163.1.el9_0, kernel-5.14.0-70.163.1.el9_0, kernel-abi-stablelists-5.14.0-70.163.1.el9_0 +14
- RHSA-2026:1495 Released 2026-01-28 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel-rt security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV E4S (v.9.0) kernel-rt-5.14.0-70.163.1.rt21.235.el9_0, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-70.163.1.rt21.235.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-70.163.1.rt21.235.el9_0 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time E4S (v.9.0) kernel-rt-5.14.0-70.163.1.rt21.235.el9_0, kernel-rt-core-5.14.0-70.163.1.rt21.235.el9_0, kernel-rt-debug-5.14.0-70.163.1.rt21.235.el9_0 +7
Show 3 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2026:1442 Released 2026-01-28 · Red Hat rating Importantkernel security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v.8.6) bpftool-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6, kernel-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6 +14
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.8.6) bpftool-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6, kernel-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6 +19
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS TUS (v.8.6) bpftool-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6, kernel-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-372.177.1.el8_6 +14
- RHSA-2022:8267 Released 2022-11-15 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) kernel-tools-libs-devel-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) kernel-debug-devel-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1, kernel-debug-devel-matched-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1, kernel-devel-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1 +5
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) bpftool-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1, kernel-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1, kernel-abi-stablelists-5.14.0-162.6.1.el9_1 +14
- RHSA-2022:7683 Released 2022-11-08 · Red Hat rating Moderatekernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) kernel-tools-libs-devel-4.18.0-425.3.1.el8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) bpftool-4.18.0-425.3.1.el8, kernel-4.18.0-425.3.1.el8, kernel-abi-stablelists-4.18.0-425.3.1.el8 +19
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:7683 |
| Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:8267 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:8267 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1494 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:7683 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) | Fixed | RHSA-2022:8267 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v.8.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1886 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS AUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1442 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1442 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1494 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS EXTENSION (v.8.4) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1886 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS TUS (v.8.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1442 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux NFV E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1495 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time E4S (v.9.0) | Fixed | RHSA-2026:1495 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-49290
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-9368-p9r2-276c
References
Patch 9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/615716af8644813355e014314a0bc1e961250f5a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1d9c3628ef0a0ca197595d0f9e01cd3b5dda186
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/273ebddc5fda2967492cb0b6cdd7d81cfb821b76
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3bbd0000d012f92aec423b224784fbf0f7bf40f8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d3ff9542a40ce034416bca03864709540a36016
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/12e407a8ef17623823fd0c066fbd7f103953d28d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/582d8c60c0c053684f7138875e8150d5749ffc17
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46bb87d40683337757a2f902fcd4244b32bb4e86
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4a2d4496e15ea5bb5c8e83b94ca8ca7fb045e7d3
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Sources
- CVE-2022-49290 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-49290 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-9368-p9r2-276c · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-49290 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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