VulnerabilityPublished 25 Jul 2026Updated 27 Jul 2026

CVE-2026-64442: Linux kernel · Out-of-bounds Read

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-64442· High 8.1

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.1 High · fixed in ef61d628dfad38fead1fd2e08979ae9126d011d5 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.1High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 21% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in ef61d628dfad38fead1fd2e08979ae9126d011d5, c38d16b1ffac385c9e4b38447cd5c46af1114b58, bc881c9915c4468747d0ca5fd1abd7b313cfb0f4 +5

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Adjacent
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Adjacent: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack, but the attack is limited at the protocol level to a logically adjacent topology. This can mean an attack must be launched from the same shared physical (e.g., Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11) or logical (e.g., local IP subnet) network, or from within a secure or otherwise limited administrative domain (e.g., MPLS, secure VPN to an administrative network zone).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Jul 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-9c3c-vw6j-5852

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 554c0a3abf216c991c5ebddcdb2c08689ecd290b, < ef61d628dfad38fead1fd2e08979ae9126d011d5	Fixed in ef61d628dfad38fead1fd2e08979ae9126d011d5
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 554c0a3abf216c991c5ebddcdb2c08689ecd290b, < c38d16b1ffac385c9e4b38447cd5c46af1114b58	Fixed in c38d16b1ffac385c9e4b38447cd5c46af1114b58
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 554c0a3abf216c991c5ebddcdb2c08689ecd290b, < bc881c9915c4468747d0ca5fd1abd7b313cfb0f4	Fixed in bc881c9915c4468747d0ca5fd1abd7b313cfb0f4
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 554c0a3abf216c991c5ebddcdb2c08689ecd290b, < ad2637c46ef8b8ae0894372a2d39fdfcdc420a1e	Fixed in ad2637c46ef8b8ae0894372a2d39fdfcdc420a1e
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 554c0a3abf216c991c5ebddcdb2c08689ecd290b, < a830bdc82461353bf7b1f8a2ad2689bf5d2de444	Fixed in a830bdc82461353bf7b1f8a2ad2689bf5d2de444
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 554c0a3abf216c991c5ebddcdb2c08689ecd290b, < 605ebd94d0f469204f3c9f2f84acc71e43e2780f	Fixed in 605ebd94d0f469204f3c9f2f84acc71e43e2780f

AI-suggested

A fix for this vulnerability has been implemented in the Linux kernel by adding proper bounds checks in the affected IE parsing loops. Users should apply the official kernel updates that include this patch when available. Since this is not a cloud service, remediation depends on applying the updated kernel version.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: staging: rtl8723bs: fix OOB reads in IE loops in issue_assocreq() and join_cmd_hdl() Two IE parsing loops are missing the header bounds checks before they dereference pIE->length: - issue_assocreq() walks pmlmeinfo->network.ies to build the association request. If the stored IE data ends with only an element_id byte and no length byte, pIE->length is read one byte past the end of the buffer. - join_cmd_hdl() walks pnetwork->ies during station join and has the same problem under the same conditions. Both buffers are filled from AP beacon and probe-response frames, so a malicious AP that sends a truncated final IE can trigger the issue. Apply the two-guard pattern established in update_beacon_info(): 1. Break if fewer than sizeof(*pIE) bytes remain. 2. Break if the IE's declared data extends past the buffer end.

Impact

An attacker controlling a malicious access point can trigger out-of-bounds reads in the affected driver by sending malformed beacon or probe-response frames with truncated information elements. This could potentially lead to kernel memory disclosure or instability. However, no known exploits are reported in the wild at this time.

Summary

CVE-2026-64442 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the Linux kernel's rtl8723bs staging driver. Specifically, the functions issue_assocreq() and join_cmd_hdl() parse IE buffers without verifying that the length field is within the buffer bounds. If a malicious access point sends a truncated final IE with only an element_id byte and no length byte, the code reads one byte past the buffer end. The fix applies a two-guard pattern to break parsing if fewer than the size of the IE header remain or if the declared IE data extends beyond the buffer end.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 25 Jul 2026, 23:24 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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