wifi: ath12k: fix dead lock while flushing management frames
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
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-667 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath12k: fix dead lock while flushing management frames Commit [1] converted the management transmission work item into a wiphy work. Since a wiphy work can only run under wiphy lock protection, a race condition happens in below scenario: 1. a management frame is queued for transmission. 2. ath12k_mac_op_flush() gets called to flush pending frames associated with the hardware (i.e, vif being NULL). Then in ath12k_mac_flush() the process waits for the transmission done. 3. Since wiphy lock has been taken by the flush process, the transmission work item has no chance to run, hence the dead lock. >From user view, this dead lock results in below issue: wlp8s0: authenticate with xxxxxx (local address=xxxxxx) wlp8s0: send auth to xxxxxx (try 1/3) wlp8s0: authenticate with xxxxxx (local address=xxxxxx) wlp8s0: send auth to xxxxxx (try 1/3) wlp8s0: authenticated wlp8s0: associate with xxxxxx (try 1/3) wlp8s0: aborting association with xxxxxx by local choice (Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING) ath12k_pci 0000:08:00.0: failed to flush mgmt transmit queue, mgmt pkts pending 1 The dead lock can be avoided by invoking wiphy_work_flush() to proactively run the queued work item. Note actually it is already present in ath12k_mac_op_flush(), however it does not protect the case where vif being NULL. Hence move it ahead to cover this case as well. Tested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.1.c5-00302-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-1.115823.3
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
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 | 6.14 and later | 6.18.8, 6.19 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.14 and later Fixed in 6.18.8, 6.19 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.14 to before 6.18.8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.19 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.19 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.19 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.19 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.19 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.19 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.14 to before 6.18.8 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.19 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.19 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.19 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.19 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.19 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.19 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.18.8, 6.19
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-23130
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-6mvr-5ch7-jjjq
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
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-2026-23130 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-23130 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-6mvr-5ch7-jjjq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-23130 · 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