CVE-2026-97518: Linux kernel · wifi: cfg80211: reject duplicate wiphy cipher suite entries
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 4% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
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.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
A fix is available that rejects duplicate cipher suite entries in wiphy_register(). Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes this fix to prevent malformed wiphy descriptions from causing errors. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying the official fix.
Description
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's wifi cfg80211 component allowed duplicate cipher suite entries in wiphy->cipher_suites. These duplicates do not add capability but were accepted, causing issues in consumers like the WEXT compatibility code, which could overflow a fixed-size array. The vulnerability has been resolved by rejecting duplicate cipher suite entries early in wiphy_register(), preventing malformed wiphy descriptions from causing errors downstream.
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-97518 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97518 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/1305f8b925fe92edf5fec183588dfc7db719180b (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4cbb2360f4d8c29e67bc7a8bf6ba0ae096583923 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7187d145d9042b037e4f10538f70cf95e380219f (opens in a new tab)