VulnerabilityPublished 15 Aug 2026Updated 9 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-68469: Linux kernel · wifi: mwifiex: fix permanently busy scans after multiple roam iterations

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 5.15.0-1117.124~20.04.1 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 18% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 5.15.0-1117.124~20.04.1, 5.15.0-1123.132~20.04.1, 5.15.0-1122.131~20.04.1 +41

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Aug 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-mc74-x78c-h295

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-38.38	Fixed in 7.0.0-38.38
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1014.14	Fixed in 7.0.0-1014.14
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1017.17	Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.17
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1016.16	Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.16
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1014.14	Fixed in 7.0.0-1014.14
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gke`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1008.9	Fixed in 7.0.0-1008.9

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A patch is available that corrects the power-save state handling in the mwifiex driver to prevent the busy scan condition. Users should apply the official Linux kernel updates that include this fix. No additional mitigation actions are required beyond updating to a patched kernel version.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mwifiex WiFi driver caused scan commands to become permanently busy after multiple roaming iterations. This occurred because the driver incorrectly managed power-save state transitions during association commands, preventing the firmware from completing scan requests and causing subsequent scans to fail with a busy error. The issue was observed on specific hardware (IW412) and fixed by correcting the power-save state handling in the driver.

Impact

Affected systems experience permanently busy WiFi scan operations after multiple roaming attempts, causing scan requests to hang and fail with busy errors. This impacts WiFi functionality by preventing successful scanning and roaming, potentially degrading network connectivity and user experience. The issue is specific to certain hardware and driver versions and does not indicate remote code execution or privilege escalation.

Summary

The Linux kernel mwifiex WiFi driver had a flaw where the power-save state (ps_state) was forcibly set to AWAKE during association command responses, disrupting the normal power-save event flow. If an EVENT_SLEEP occurred while an association command was in flight, the driver would overwrite the PRE_SLEEP state prematurely, causing the deferred sleep-confirm command never to be sent. This led to scan_start commands being acknowledged but no scan_result events generated, resulting in scan requests never finishing and subsequent requests failing with -EBUSY. The bug was reproducible on IW412 firmware but not on W8997 due to different firmware behavior. The fix involved removing the unconditional ps_state assignment to ensure power-save state is only manipulated during proper event handling and on the main workqueue.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 25 Oct 2026, 05:53 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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