CVE-2026-64175

wifi: iwlwifi: mld: stop TX during firmware restart

Published Jul 19, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.5 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: iwlwifi: mld: stop TX during firmware restart

When iwlwifi firmware crashes (e.g., NMI_INTERRUPT_UNKNOWN on Intel
BE201/Wi-Fi 7), iwl_mld_nic_error() sets mld->fw_status.in_hw_restart
to true. However, iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() does not check this flag before
dequeuing frames from mac80211 and pushing them to the transport layer.

Since the firmware is dead, iwl_trans_tx() returns -EIO for each frame,
which then gets freed immediately. Under high-throughput conditions
(e.g., Tailscale UDP traffic or active SSH sessions), this creates a
tight dequeue-send-fail-free loop that wastes CPU cycles and generates
rapid skb allocation churn, leading to memory pressure from slab
fragmentation.

The RX path already has this guard (iwl_mld_rx_mpdu checks
in_hw_restart at rx.c:1906), and so does the TXQ allocation worker
(iwl_mld_add_txqs_wk at tx.c:156). Add the same guard to
iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() to stop all TX during firmware restart.

Frames left in mac80211's TXQs are naturally drained after restart
completes, when queue reallocation triggers iwl_mld_tx_from_txq()
via iwl_mld_add_txq_list(), or when new upper-layer traffic invokes
wake_tx_queue.

Tested on ASUS Zenbook 14 UX3405CA with Intel BE201 (Wi-Fi 7) on
kernel 6.19.5 where the firmware crashes approximately every 10-15
minutes under Tailscale traffic.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8593-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8603-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8618-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8663-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8664-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA BaseOS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8728-1 Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8728-2 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8728-3 Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-400
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'yes', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses NVD-CWE-noinfo
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-835
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Low

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: mld: stop TX during firmware restart When iwlwifi firmware crashes (e.g., NMI_INTERRUPT_UNKNOWN on Intel BE201/Wi-Fi 7), iwl_mld_nic_error() sets mld->fw_status.in_hw_restart to true. However, iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() does not check this flag before dequeuing frames from mac80211 and pushing them to the transport layer. Since the firmware is dead, iwl_trans_tx() returns -EIO for each frame, which then gets freed immediately. Under high-throughput conditions (e.g., Tailscale UDP traffic or active SSH sessions), this creates a tight dequeue-send-fail-free loop that wastes CPU cycles and generates rapid skb allocation churn, leading to memory pressure from slab fragmentation. The RX path already has this guard (iwl_mld_rx_mpdu checks in_hw_restart at rx.c:1906), and so does the TXQ allocation worker (iwl_mld_add_txqs_wk at tx.c:156). Add the same guard to iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() to stop all TX during firmware restart. Frames left in mac80211's TXQs are naturally drained after restart completes, when queue reallocation triggers iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() via iwl_mld_add_txq_list(), or when new upper-layer traffic invokes wake_tx_queue. Tested on ASUS Zenbook 14 UX3405CA with Intel BE201 (Wi-Fi 7) on kernel 6.19.5 where the firmware crashes approximately every 10-15 minutes under Tailscale traffic.
Title wifi: iwlwifi: mld: stop TX during firmware restart
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Oct 19, 2026, 8:28 PM
Reserved
Jul 19, 2026, 7:54 AM
Status
Modified
Published
Jul 19, 2026, 4:17 PM
Modified
Oct 19, 2026, 9:17 PM
Severity
Low
Public date
Jul 19, 2026, 12:00 AM