CVE-2026-68405 PUBLISHED

wifi: mac80211: free AP_VLAN bc_buf SKBs outside IRQ lock

Assigner: Linux
Reserved: 30.07.2026 Published: 10.08.2026 Updated: 10.08.2026

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: mac80211: free AP_VLAN bc_buf SKBs outside IRQ lock

ieee80211_do_stop() removes AP_VLAN packets from the parent AP ps->bc_buf while holding ps->bc_buf.lock with IRQs disabled. It then calls ieee80211_free_txskb() before dropping the lock.

ieee80211_free_txskb() is not just a passive SKB release. For SKBs with TX status state it can report a dropped frame through cfg80211/nl80211, and that path can reach netlink tap transmit. This is the same reason the pending queue cleanup in ieee80211_do_stop() already unlinks SKBs under the queue lock and frees them after IRQ state is restored.

The buggy scenario involves two paths, with each column showing the order within that path:

AP_VLAN management TX: AP_VLAN stop: 1. attach ACK-status state 1. clear the running state 2. queue a multicast SKB on 2. take ps->bc_buf.lock with IRQs parent ps->bc_buf disabled 3. unlink the AP_VLAN SKB 4. call ieee80211_free_txskb()

Unlink matching AP_VLAN SKBs from ps->bc_buf under the existing lock, but move them to a local free queue. Drop the lock and restore IRQ state before calling ieee80211_free_txskb().

WARNING: kernel/softirq.c:430 at __local_bh_enable_ip

Product Status

Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from 397a7a24ef8c2967a3e8090013f9c54714110c48 to be9dfcb0654c1f6c0fce7ba2a909683bb6f1e0ef (excl.)
  • affected from 397a7a24ef8c2967a3e8090013f9c54714110c48 to 962f755a47d7ec3bbf6c709697d7f4c5f798441d (excl.)
  • affected from 397a7a24ef8c2967a3e8090013f9c54714110c48 to a424985c3ef2a87ce6057a853e18d0c441a86be8 (excl.)
  • affected from 397a7a24ef8c2967a3e8090013f9c54714110c48 to 4b8abf43bf34791c99d99dc3be13f897adefc461 (excl.)
  • affected from 397a7a24ef8c2967a3e8090013f9c54714110c48 to f3858d5b1432098c1936e03d6e03dd0e33facf60 (excl.)
Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: affected
  • Version 3.9 is affected
  • unaffected from 0 to 3.9 (excl.)
  • unaffected from 6.6.148 to 6.6.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.12.101 to 6.12.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.18.42 to 6.18.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.1.6 to 7.1.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.2-rc4 to * (incl.)

References