VulnerabilityPublished 6 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98183: Linux kernel · wifi: mac80211: avoid out-of-bounds read for empty PREQ elements

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited : upgrade to e6031f02269c0f51cf67886d177f02bc300b47cd or 3beddbd56946577478fd5e649f556aaaebe15b0a when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · 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.
Patch: Available – fixed in e6031f02269c0f51cf67886d177f02bc300b47cd, 3beddbd56946577478fd5e649f556aaaebe15b0a

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 6 Oct 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 Linux kernel to e6031f02269c0f51cf67886d177f02bc300b47cd or 3beddbd56946577478fd5e649f556aaaebe15b0a.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 8b40b1d24a6099fe9fac8e207d4cb04ab5e0baae, < e6031f02269c0f51cf67886d177f02bc300b47cd	Fixed in e6031f02269c0f51cf67886d177f02bc300b47cd
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 8b40b1d24a6099fe9fac8e207d4cb04ab5e0baae, < 3beddbd56946577478fd5e649f556aaaebe15b0a	Fixed in 3beddbd56946577478fd5e649f556aaaebe15b0a
LinuxLinux	Affected =7.2	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix for this vulnerability has been implemented in the Linux kernel. Users should update to the fixed versions identified by commits e6031f02269c0f51cf67886d177f02bc300b47cd and 3beddbd56946577478fd5e649f556aaaebe15b0a. Applying these updates will prevent the out-of-bounds read from occurring.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mac80211 wireless subsystem could cause an out-of-bounds read when processing empty PREQ elements. This occurs because the code reads beyond the declared payload of the PREQ element before verifying its size. The issue has been fixed by reordering checks to ensure size validation occurs before accessing the PREQ bottom fields.

Impact

This vulnerability could lead to an out-of-bounds read in kernel memory when processing malformed or empty PREQ elements in the mac80211 wireless stack. While the direct impact is an invalid memory read, the input data does not specify if this could lead to system crashes, privilege escalation, or other security consequences.

Summary

The Linux kernel's mac80211 component had a flaw in handling PREQ (path request) elements in mesh networking. The function ieee80211_mesh_preq_size_ok() derived the location of the PREQ bottom fields before confirming the element contained the fixed header. Subsequently, ieee80211_mesh_hwmp_preq_get_bottom() read a flags byte to check for an optional Address Extension field. If the PREQ element was empty, this caused a one-byte out-of-bounds read beyond the payload. The fix involved moving the helper call to after both size checks, preventing access to bottom fields unless they are present.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 12:26 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats