CVE-2026-98184: Linux kernel · wifi: mwifiex: prevent authentication frame length truncation
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited.
Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 01:27 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
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.
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.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mwifiex: prevent authentication frame length truncation mwifiex_cfg80211_authenticate() derives the authentication frame length from req->ie_len and req->auth_data_len, both of type size_t, but stores it in a u16. NL80211_ATTR_AUTH_DATA only has a minimum length policy. Since nla_len is a u16, a single attribute can carry up to 65531 bytes of payload, so the sum can exceed U16_MAX before it is assigned to pkt_len. The truncated pkt_len determines the skb frame area, while the copy length remains req->auth_data_len - 4, resulting in a heap buffer overflow. For example, with auth_data_len equal to 65510 and no IEs, the sum is 65546. It is truncated to 10 and then reduced by four to 6. The driver appends only six bytes to the skb with skb_put(), but then copies 65506 user-provided bytes into the authentication body. Reaching this path requires CAP_NET_ADMIN in the user namespace owning the network namespace, an up station netdev, and a suitable BSS/SAE authentication request. Compute the length in size_t, reject values that cannot be represented by the firmware's u16 frame length field, and only then assign it to pkt_len.
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-98184 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98184 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/linus/fa00193eb991f92b007aefe7afb6a7566976dacf (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/25c45a2075cc00faed45f92a64bb172fb074a2ee (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/5747eaa38a7fcad48be2fd910b65008198b2b06c (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/877b61a67d5eb3e616478daf3908114b57feff1e (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/fa00193eb991f92b007aefe7afb6a7566976dacf (opens in a new tab)