wifi: cfg80211: validate rx/tx MLME callback frame lengths before access
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 7 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: 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.
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 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2
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 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-93805
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7vqv-hxrc-vvx2
- 2026-10-03 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected] +3 · CNA
- 2026-10-03 3 new references · CNA
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6eb4bd50be53f5afbabb3a3b5153276e08fa7a4a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce2a3be6909462f49c34de96be71f0ad5f0d573f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6bdf4dcff98df634e04ebf99f52027a48d7f78ff
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0ec738a0d361d7eb37188117166d201f9df622d3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f4127a93cf60d561ad39849a9ac763ba0e14db5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5e4586546974179feca305a94e07fac3e9727fe
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Sources
- CVE-2026-93805 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-93805 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7vqv-hxrc-vvx2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-93805 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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