wifi: rtw88: usb: fix memory leaks on USB write failures
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rtw88: usb: fix memory leaks on USB write failures When rtw_usb_write_port() fails to submit a USB Request Block (URB) (e.g., due to device disconnect or ENOMEM), the completion callback is never executed. Currently, the driver ignores the return value of rtw_usb_write_port() in rtw_usb_write_data() and rtw_usb_tx_agg_skb(). Because these functions rely on the completion callback to free the socket buffers (skbs) and the transaction control block (txcb), a submission failure results in: 1. A memory leak of the allocated skb in rtw_usb_write_data(). 2. A memory leak of the txcb structure and all aggregated skbs in rtw_usb_tx_agg_skb(). Fix this by checking the return value of rtw_usb_write_port(). If it fails, explicitly free the skb in rtw_usb_write_data(), and properly purge the tx_ack_queue and free the txcb in rtw_usb_tx_agg_skb(). The issue was discovered in practice during device disconnect/reconnect scenarios and memory pressure conditions. Tested by verifying normal TX operation continues after the fix without regressions.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.6.144, 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. 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: 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-2026-63821
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2cvr-cmj4-cjrx
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b2060c2075a72bc2de43ce5e1b9347d6c5e27bb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/53fed4061a09755de99c89fdc7fae5b794da455f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/200d58c851b8f63f77a05570072dd20f79bc3681
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8206d173d18ef5a077423119f4e9a93cb3a6f4eb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b964941bbfe6e0f18b1a5e008486dbb62df440a
More Linux 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-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-63821 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-63821 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2cvr-cmj4-cjrx · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-63821 · 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