VulnerabilityPublished 6 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98334: Linux kernel · wifi: mac80211: reset state when starting AP fails

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in d83da43e9b3b3b1bad99ac5a1065f1c63ad5fc32 : update Linux kernel 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 6% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in d83da43e9b3b3b1bad99ac5a1065f1c63ad5fc32, 6eac225f59c1c2277ac74f8a716d6df0ba3b8d28, 5d5ff5b36f5748a2a077f875a73ccb26860d3fcc +1

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 d83da43e9b3b3b1bad99ac5a1065f1c63ad5fc32, 6eac225f59c1c2277ac74f8a716d6df0ba3b8d28, 5d5ff5b36f5748a2a077f875a73ccb26860d3fcc or 3f28551d0241254a75626d868041c6340285088b.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d6a83228823fc0cc8d79d95c9f0bf568b7317862, < d83da43e9b3b3b1bad99ac5a1065f1c63ad5fc32	Fixed in d83da43e9b3b3b1bad99ac5a1065f1c63ad5fc32
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d6a83228823fc0cc8d79d95c9f0bf568b7317862, < 6eac225f59c1c2277ac74f8a716d6df0ba3b8d28	Fixed in 6eac225f59c1c2277ac74f8a716d6df0ba3b8d28
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d6a83228823fc0cc8d79d95c9f0bf568b7317862, < 5d5ff5b36f5748a2a077f875a73ccb26860d3fcc	Fixed in 5d5ff5b36f5748a2a077f875a73ccb26860d3fcc
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ d6a83228823fc0cc8d79d95c9f0bf568b7317862, < 3f28551d0241254a75626d868041c6340285088b	Fixed in 3f28551d0241254a75626d868041c6340285088b
LinuxLinux	Affected =3.9	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in the Linux kernel versions identified by the fixed commit hashes. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes these fixes to resolve the issue. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mac80211 wireless subsystem can cause a state inconsistency when starting an access point (AP) fails. This leads to improper beacon state handling, which may cause kernel crashes (divide error) and warnings during scanning and interface type changes. The issue has been fixed by resetting the state on failure to maintain correctness.

Impact

The vulnerability can cause kernel crashes (Oops: divide error) and warnings, potentially leading to system instability or denial of service on affected Linux systems running the vulnerable mac80211 wireless driver. There is no indication of remote code execution or privilege escalation from the provided data.

Summary

The Linux kernel mac80211 component had a flaw where ieee80211_start_ap() could set beacon-related state variables and then fail without resetting them. This left the interface in an inconsistent state, causing scanning operations to attempt restoring beaconing improperly. This resulted in kernel crashes (divide error) and warnings in the driver operations. The fix involves resetting the state on failure to ensure the interface state remains consistent.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 11:39 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats