Out-of-bounds read in Linux kernel wireless frame parsing
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Adjacent network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
The Linux kernel libipw wireless code used by the ipw2100 and ipw2200 drivers is affected from 2.6.14 before the fixed releases. Probe response parsing assumes a full header, but short frames are not rejected, so the length calculation wraps. An unauthenticated attacker on an adjacent network can send such a frame to make the parser read past the receive buffer, causing denial of service and limited information disclosure.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: libipw: reject too-short beacon and probe responses libipw_process_probe_response() and the libipw_network_init() call it makes assume the frame contains the full 36-byte beacon and probe response prefix, but the ipw2100 and ipw2200 receive paths only establish that a management frame carries the generic 24-byte three-address header. libipw_network_init() then computes the information element length as stats->len - sizeof(*beacon) stats->len is a u16 and sizeof() has type size_t, so the subtraction is evaluated as size_t and wraps instead of going negative. Truncating that to the u16 length parameter of libipw_parse_info_param() yields 65524 for a 24-byte beacon, and the parser then walks the receive buffer as if it held almost 64 KiB of information elements, reading past the allocation. Reject the frame before any fixed field is touched. Found by an AI-assisted review of length arithmetic in management frame parsers. Verified with a KUnit case under Generic KASAN on arm64 under QEMU; I do not have the hardware, so it is not tested on a real device.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.14 and later | 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.14 and later Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3 Patch available CNA
Remediation
Upgrade the Linux kernel to 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8 or 7.3, or to the fixed commits listed for the affected ranges.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
Not affected: 7 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5
Timeline
- 2026-10-06 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98349
- 2026-10-06 Alias added: GHSA-pp5x-p5cv-w76c
- 2026-10-07 CVSS score added · CNA
- 2026-10-11 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-11 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cee6f141b3bebe62eb0363fd147acb52023935f0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23afeb5d2bdfd34c8a0a661876291a4fa9978293
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/89959ff00a978f3172726d3d5f861ee6f1aae26d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/14ae269c1306053ddf1ccf37c4bd66e085a652d1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ff756e6647722b7d225d882f7bdb186d8eee318e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c87bbc00dc93149d1dc4f803ad92d92e4ef3758
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/19959fb60228f6dccc40d55507f8b1a751c2dc89
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ce5721e8cbe3e80db8f43851cc2a2a92485ef4b
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- 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-2026-98349 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98349 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pp5x-p5cv-w76c · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98349 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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