VulnerabilityPublished 18 Oct 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98701: Linux kernel · wifi: mac80211: release mesh path quota on failed additions

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98701· Medium

Not known to be exploited · fixed in a613c891906b558c10a4fa98ca29747b98e857cb : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 5% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in a613c891906b558c10a4fa98ca29747b98e857cb, a59eca4557c7462aad1b160011013290a92de97d, 56691ed9ef792f180e008a43294a4dc059fbeca2 +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 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.

ghsa-v4pc-pf34-4h9h

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ ae76eef027f75fadd8a8eda55ee07707f077aacb, < a613c891906b558c10a4fa98ca29747b98e857cb	Fixed in a613c891906b558c10a4fa98ca29747b98e857cb
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ ae76eef027f75fadd8a8eda55ee07707f077aacb, < a59eca4557c7462aad1b160011013290a92de97d	Fixed in a59eca4557c7462aad1b160011013290a92de97d
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ ae76eef027f75fadd8a8eda55ee07707f077aacb, < 56691ed9ef792f180e008a43294a4dc059fbeca2	Fixed in 56691ed9ef792f180e008a43294a4dc059fbeca2
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ ae76eef027f75fadd8a8eda55ee07707f077aacb, < 7325a44474f20c1393a1c114c6811abce6ddfaf4	Fixed in 7325a44474f20c1393a1c114c6811abce6ddfaf4
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ ae76eef027f75fadd8a8eda55ee07707f077aacb, < 57bfaa8b2853425ab1b83114d823a62fe63f859f	Fixed in 57bfaa8b2853425ab1b83114d823a62fe63f859f
LinuxLinux	Affected =3.10	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented to release the mesh path quota reservation on failed or duplicate mesh path additions. Users should apply the official Linux kernel update that includes this fix to resolve the issue. No additional mitigation is indicated.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's mac80211 WiFi subsystem was resolved that could cause exhaustion of mesh path quotas due to repeated failed or duplicate mesh path additions. The issue arises because the function mesh_path_add() reserves a slot before allocation and insertion, but on failure to allocate or insert, it does not release the reserved slot, leading to quota exhaustion and preventing new mesh paths from being created.

Impact

The vulnerability can cause exhaustion of the mesh path quota, preventing the creation of new mesh paths even though the path table is not fully utilized. This could disrupt mesh networking functionality by blocking new paths to reachable destinations, potentially degrading network performance or connectivity in affected Linux systems using mac80211 mesh networking.

Summary

The Linux kernel mac80211 subsystem had a vulnerability where repeated failed or duplicate mesh path additions could exhaust the MESH_MAX_MPATHS quota despite the path table holding fewer paths. This occurs because mesh_path_add() reserves a slot before allocating and inserting a path, but if allocation fails or insertion into the rhashtable reports an error or duplicate destination, the reserved slot is not released. Consequently, no new paths can be installed, effectively blocking new mesh paths to reachable destinations. The fix involves releasing the reservation whenever the candidate path is not installed.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…