wifi: wfx: fix memory leak when starting AP
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-125 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: wfx: fix memory leak when starting AP Kmemleak reported this error: unreferenced object 0xd73d1180 (size 184): comm "wpa_supplicant", pid 1559, jiffies 13006305 (age 964.245s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 1e 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<5ca11420>] kmem_cache_alloc+0x20c/0x5ac [<127bdd74>] __alloc_skb+0x144/0x170 [<fb8a5e38>] __netdev_alloc_skb+0x50/0x180 [<0f9fa1d5>] __ieee80211_beacon_get+0x290/0x4d4 [mac80211] [<7accd02d>] ieee80211_beacon_get_tim+0x54/0x18c [mac80211] [<41e25cc3>] wfx_start_ap+0xc8/0x234 [wfx] [<93a70356>] ieee80211_start_ap+0x404/0x6b4 [mac80211] [<a4a661cd>] nl80211_start_ap+0x76c/0x9e0 [cfg80211] [<47bd8b68>] genl_rcv_msg+0x198/0x378 [<453ef796>] netlink_rcv_skb+0xd0/0x130 [<6b7c977a>] genl_rcv+0x34/0x44 [<66b2d04d>] netlink_unicast+0x1b4/0x258 [<f965b9b6>] netlink_sendmsg+0x1e8/0x428 [<aadb8231>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x1e0/0x274 [<d2b5212d>] ___sys_sendmsg+0x80/0xb4 [<69954f45>] __sys_sendmsg+0x64/0xa8 unreferenced object 0xce087000 (size 1024): comm "wpa_supplicant", pid 1559, jiffies 13006305 (age 964.246s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 10 00 07 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...@............ backtrace: [<9a993714>] __kmalloc_track_caller+0x230/0x600 [<f83ea192>] kmalloc_reserve.constprop.0+0x30/0x74 [<a2c61343>] __alloc_skb+0xa0/0x170 [<fb8a5e38>] __netdev_alloc_skb+0x50/0x180 [<0f9fa1d5>] __ieee80211_beacon_get+0x290/0x4d4 [mac80211] [<7accd02d>] ieee80211_beacon_get_tim+0x54/0x18c [mac80211] [<41e25cc3>] wfx_start_ap+0xc8/0x234 [wfx] [<93a70356>] ieee80211_start_ap+0x404/0x6b4 [mac80211] [<a4a661cd>] nl80211_start_ap+0x76c/0x9e0 [cfg80211] [<47bd8b68>] genl_rcv_msg+0x198/0x378 [<453ef796>] netlink_rcv_skb+0xd0/0x130 [<6b7c977a>] genl_rcv+0x34/0x44 [<66b2d04d>] netlink_unicast+0x1b4/0x258 [<f965b9b6>] netlink_sendmsg+0x1e8/0x428 [<aadb8231>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x1e0/0x274 [<d2b5212d>] ___sys_sendmsg+0x80/0xb4 However, since the kernel is build optimized, it seems the stack is not accurate. It appears the issue is related to wfx_set_mfp_ap(). The issue is obvious in this function: memory allocated by ieee80211_beacon_get() is never released. Fixing this leak makes kmemleak happy.
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 | 5.10 and later | 6.1.83, 6.6.23, 6.7.11, 6.8.2, 6.9 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.10 and later Fixed in 6.1.83, 6.6.23, 6.7.11, 6.8.2, 6.9 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.10 to before 6.1.83; 6.2 to before 6.6.23; 6.7 to before 6.7.11; 6.8 to before 6.8.2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.10 to before 6.1.83; 6.2 to before 6.6.23; 6.7 to before 6.7.11; 6.8 to before 6.8.2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.83, 6.6.23, 6.7.11, 6.8.2, 6.9
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2024-26896
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vmcx-j4f5-gfcv
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1f57a0127b89a6b6620514564aa7eaec16d9af3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a71ec74e5e3478d202a1874f085ca3ef40be49b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/12f00a367b2b62756e0396f14b54c2c15524e1c3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dadbb5d29d6c5f571a50272fce8c1505a9559487
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b8cfb7c819dd39965136a66fe3a7fde688d976fc
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2024-26896 · CVE Program
- CVE-2024-26896 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vmcx-j4f5-gfcv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2024-26896 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences