VulnerabilityPublished 14 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98426: Linux kernel · wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in fcac5813f324cd07dfd36b4adf624fc70f7587d6 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 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 12% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in fcac5813f324cd07dfd36b4adf624fc70f7587d6, a3d722190cdef18da4878b5efc27c3c386dda248, 2761b21cb896b1da8dd46cee5084c9032b2d7098 +5

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 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 to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 99074fc1e67b374b5c72406a23ac01fed806d634, < fcac5813f324cd07dfd36b4adf624fc70f7587d6	Fixed in fcac5813f324cd07dfd36b4adf624fc70f7587d6
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 99074fc1e67b374b5c72406a23ac01fed806d634, < a3d722190cdef18da4878b5efc27c3c386dda248	Fixed in a3d722190cdef18da4878b5efc27c3c386dda248
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 99074fc1e67b374b5c72406a23ac01fed806d634, < 2761b21cb896b1da8dd46cee5084c9032b2d7098	Fixed in 2761b21cb896b1da8dd46cee5084c9032b2d7098
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 99074fc1e67b374b5c72406a23ac01fed806d634, < 0969c9688389f2e0f65b1a924b0dd6625a3bb776	Fixed in 0969c9688389f2e0f65b1a924b0dd6625a3bb776
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 99074fc1e67b374b5c72406a23ac01fed806d634, < 11bc2cbb14f450eaa47cce9eb086f948ef8f4bcd	Fixed in 11bc2cbb14f450eaa47cce9eb086f948ef8f4bcd
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 99074fc1e67b374b5c72406a23ac01fed806d634, < 5fd4cc87e6cc0839aac89c24ebe39ce262fe088f	Fixed in 5fd4cc87e6cc0839aac89c24ebe39ce262fe088f

AI-suggested

This issue has been fixed in the Linux kernel in multiple commits. Users should update their Linux kernel to a version including these fixes. Since this is not a cloud service, manual patching is required. Patch status is confirmed by fixed commit hashes.

Description

CVE-2026-98426 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mwifiex driver affecting version 4.6. The flaw involves an IRQ leak caused by incorrect handling of MSI-X interrupt vectors during error cleanup. Specifically, the cleanup loop frees IRQ vectors but uses the wrong device ID pointer, resulting in some IRQs not being freed and warnings about freeing non-existent IRQs. This issue has been fixed in multiple Linux kernel commits.

Impact

The vulnerability causes an IRQ leak in the Linux kernel mwifiex driver, which may lead to resource exhaustion or instability in the affected system. There is no indication of code execution or privilege escalation. No known exploits are reported in the wild.

Summary

The Linux kernel mwifiex driver registers MSI-X vectors with per-index device IDs. On failure of request_irq(), the cleanup loop incorrectly uses the failed index's device ID pointer instead of the current index's pointer when freeing IRQs. Because free_irq() matches on (irq, dev_id), this causes previously requested IRQs not to be freed, leading to an IRQ leak and kernel warnings. The fix corrects the cleanup loop to use the proper device ID pointer for each IRQ freed.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 11:19 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats