CVE-2026-98891

wifi: mac80211: validate deauth frame length before reason access

Published Oct 23, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 6.5 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed

Description

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

wifi: mac80211: validate deauth frame length before reason access

ieee80211_rx_mgmt_deauth() reads the deauth reason code before checking
that the fixed field is actually present in the received frame.

Validate the deauth frame length first and only then read the reason
code.

Affected Products

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions

Linux

unaffected

Version	Status	Constraints
`c9c99f8938e41b878802d5d8481d6f7a212515b0`	affected	< 51092dc769f021e9634474e1bd5a561da477fbdb
`c9c99f8938e41b878802d5d8481d6f7a212515b0`	affected	< a6ed4c00ccdc15011a73daa2b38af9fc5a2c543e
`c9c99f8938e41b878802d5d8481d6f7a212515b0`	affected	< 80d1a110e9096b5bf41497f6b151154084862385
`c9c99f8938e41b878802d5d8481d6f7a212515b0`	affected	< a78689e2beed200d4590318612c74ae25c9408cf
`c9c99f8938e41b878802d5d8481d6f7a212515b0`	affected	< 7a5ef1fd654d0e90d59aa32c881789c8bcc4125a
`c9c99f8938e41b878802d5d8481d6f7a212515b0`	affected	< 9df64ad43e1f2c036667bba2bf385e9d7b3af564
`c9c99f8938e41b878802d5d8481d6f7a212515b0`	affected	< 4a360c6e18dfa9d70006c7247a6a8cc8dfe0d60f

Linux

affected

Version	Status	Constraints
`4.2`	affected	—
`0`	unaffected	< 4.2
`5.10.271`	unaffected	≤ 5.10.*
`5.15.222`	unaffected	≤ 5.15.*
`6.1.189`	unaffected	≤ 6.1.*
`6.6.158`	unaffected	≤ 6.6.*
`6.12.111`	unaffected	≤ 6.12.*
`6.18.53`	unaffected	≤ 6.18.*
`7.2`	unaffected	≤ *

No data.

Vendor Product Versions

Linux

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,51092dc769f021e9634474e1bd5a561da477fbdb)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,a6ed4c00ccdc15011a73daa2b38af9fc5a2c543e)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,80d1a110e9096b5bf41497f6b151154084862385)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,a78689e2beed200d4590318612c74ae25c9408cf)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,7a5ef1fd654d0e90d59aa32c881789c8bcc4125a)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,9df64ad43e1f2c036667bba2bf385e9d7b3af564)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,4a360c6e18dfa9d70006c7247a6a8cc8dfe0d60f)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[0,5.10.271)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,5.15.222)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.1.189)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.6.158)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.12.111)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.18.53)`	affected	semver	—

Linux

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[5.10.271,5.11.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[5.15.222,5.16.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.1.189,6.2.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.6.158,6.7.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.12.111,6.13.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.18.53,6.19.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[7.2,*)`	unaffected	generic	—

Linux

Linux Kernel

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,51092dc769f021e9634474e1bd5a561da477fbdb)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,a6ed4c00ccdc15011a73daa2b38af9fc5a2c543e)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,80d1a110e9096b5bf41497f6b151154084862385)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,a78689e2beed200d4590318612c74ae25c9408cf)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,7a5ef1fd654d0e90d59aa32c881789c8bcc4125a)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,9df64ad43e1f2c036667bba2bf385e9d7b3af564)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2,4a360c6e18dfa9d70006c7247a6a8cc8dfe0d60f)`	affected	code_commit	—
`[0,5.10.271)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,5.15.222)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.1.189)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.6.158)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.12.111)`	affected	semver	—
`[0,6.18.53)`	affected	semver	—

Linux

Linux Kernel

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[5.10.271,5.11.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[5.15.222,5.16.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.1.189,6.2.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.6.158,6.7.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.12.111,6.13.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[6.18.53,6.19.0)`	unaffected	semver	—
`[7.2,*)`	unaffected	generic	—

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

Advisories

Source	ID	Title
Ubuntu USN	USN-8961-1	Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9019-1	Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9020-1	Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9022-1	Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9023-1	Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9024-1	Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9025-1	Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9026-1	Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9029-1	Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9039-1	Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9040-1	Linux kernel (Low Latency NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9066-1	Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN	USN-9091-1	Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities

Metrics

No CVSS v4.0

Attack Vector Adjacent Network

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required None

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact None

Integrity Impact None

Availability Impact High

User Interaction None

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

Exploit prediction score: < 1% (0.179% probability within 30 days)

Key SSVC decision points have not yet been added.

References

Link	Providers
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98891.mbox
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4a360c6e18dfa9d70006c7247a6a8cc8dfe0d60f
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/51092dc769f021e9634474e1bd5a561da477fbdb
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a5ef1fd654d0e90d59aa32c881789c8bcc4125a
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80d1a110e9096b5bf41497f6b151154084862385
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9df64ad43e1f2c036667bba2bf385e9d7b3af564
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a6ed4c00ccdc15011a73daa2b38af9fc5a2c543e
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a78689e2beed200d4590318612c74ae25c9408cf
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98891
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98891

History

Oct 27, 2026 4:30 AM Weaknesses updated. Added references. Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Weaknesses		CWE-125
References		https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98891.mbox https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98891 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98891
Metrics	threat_severity `None`	cvssV3_1 `{'score': 6.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}` threat_severity `Moderate`

Oct 23, 2026 3:30 PM First appearance in the feed. Affected vendors updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
First Time appeared		Linux linux
Vendors & Products		Linux linux

Oct 23, 2026 12:00 PM Description updated. Title updated. First appearance in the feed. Affected versions updated. Affected vendors updated. Added references View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Description		In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: validate deauth frame length before reason access ieee80211_rx_mgmt_deauth() reads the deauth reason code before checking that the fixed field is actually present in the received frame. Validate the deauth frame length first and only then read the reason code.
Title		wifi: mac80211: validate deauth frame length before reason access
First Time appeared		Linux Linux linux Kernel
CPEs		cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
Vendors & Products		Linux Linux linux Kernel
References		https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4a360c6e18dfa9d70006c7247a6a8cc8dfe0d60f https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/51092dc769f021e9634474e1bd5a561da477fbdb https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a5ef1fd654d0e90d59aa32c881789c8bcc4125a https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80d1a110e9096b5bf41497f6b151154084862385 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9df64ad43e1f2c036667bba2bf385e9d7b3af564 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a6ed4c00ccdc15011a73daa2b38af9fc5a2c543e https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a78689e2beed200d4590318612c74ae25c9408cf