VulnerabilityPublished 24 Sep 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-93271: Linux kernel · wifi: ath11k: cap out-of-range rx MCS instead of leaving bogus rate

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in fb7b9a7209f839c17c66484dfdc84c9a23c6fd2f : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

Severity

Low

Rated Low by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 9% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in fb7b9a7209f839c17c66484dfdc84c9a23c6fd2f, ccbd20f2168f581d90265da1a925b9b6472a0b05, b77bfe6e59b98dff3ccfcf9b45fc27e3db498626 +5

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Sep 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.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d, < fb7b9a7209f839c17c66484dfdc84c9a23c6fd2f	Fixed in fb7b9a7209f839c17c66484dfdc84c9a23c6fd2f
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d, < ccbd20f2168f581d90265da1a925b9b6472a0b05	Fixed in ccbd20f2168f581d90265da1a925b9b6472a0b05
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d, < b77bfe6e59b98dff3ccfcf9b45fc27e3db498626	Fixed in b77bfe6e59b98dff3ccfcf9b45fc27e3db498626
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d, < a6b951f79e66fc8bd93a537ff1040fbfb567c8bf	Fixed in a6b951f79e66fc8bd93a537ff1040fbfb567c8bf
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d, < a0b3e6f9645d88f387c4fea546048a91952cd4cd	Fixed in a0b3e6f9645d88f387c4fea546048a91952cd4cd
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d, < 12b09e478aa7459b7893a695ef77682202f2da83	Fixed in 12b09e478aa7459b7893a695ef77682202f2da83

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in the Linux kernel in the specified commits. Users should update to a Linux kernel version including these fixes to prevent frame drops caused by out-of-range MCS values in ath11k. No additional action is required beyond applying the official fix.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ath11k wireless driver caused frames with out-of-range MCS values to be dropped due to invalid rate metadata. This was fixed by capping the MCS value to the maximum supported and properly setting encoding metadata, allowing valid frames to be processed instead of discarded.

Impact

Frames with out-of-range MCS values were dropped despite being valid, leading to loss of otherwise valid wireless data. The fix prevents these drops by capping the MCS value, improving reliability of wireless frame reception. There is no indication of security compromise or exploitation; the impact is limited to frame loss and logging noise.

Summary

The Linux kernel's ath11k driver could receive HT/VHT/HE frames with reported MCS values exceeding the maximum defined in the mac80211 rate space (e.g., HE frames with MCS 12 when the max is 11). Previously, such frames caused the driver to leave rx_status->rate_idx set to an invalid out-of-range value and fail to assign rx_status->encoding, resulting in the frame being dropped by mac80211 due to a rate sanity check failure. The fix caps the reported MCS to the maximum allowed, sets the encoding before the range check, and assigns the capped rate index, preventing frame drops and reducing log severity. The only impact is that the frame is reported with the capped MCS in statistics. This fix is applied in multiple Linux kernel commits.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 13:46 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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