CVE-2026-72004: Linux kernel · wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw()
Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · fixed in f01eec75fd372961550b928902f3a2c11fca1daf : update Linux kernel when convenient.
Data as of 6 Nov 2026, 17:19 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
Thin evidence
One scorer or none- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
- Automatable
- Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
- Technical impact
- Limited control over the software or limited information exposure
CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-11-06.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in f01eec75fd372961550b928902f3a2c11fca1daf, bdc0b8bfdc142439d6708b072e8159eb515ee7b0, a7584f261e64fe14e45bdf70f343e16c1ee3a037 +5
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 6 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw() If kmemdup() fails while copying supported band structures, the error path jumps to fail_rate. This skips rate_control_deinitialize() and leaks the initialized local->rate_ctrl. Fix this by adding a fail_band label that shares the rate-control cleanup path before falling through to the remaining teardown. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1-rc7. An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have a suitable mac80211 device/driver combination to test with, no runtime testing was able to be performed.
References
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f01eec75fd372961550b928902f3a2c11fca1daf (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d8b9b290421c3cd505fcd2f551f143f8142786a (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/08b71bd92317f99642b842cfc0d30200868162fc (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a02b52fe54f7b5107aefa1ce28c2f69749c57616 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/45e9ac538cdff7bce656d731114a64eda85af0d7 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/bdc0b8bfdc142439d6708b072e8159eb515ee7b0 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7584f261e64fe14e45bdf70f343e16c1ee3a037 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/95fc02722edde02946d0d475221f2b2054d3d8ba (opens in a new tab)