In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlegacy: 3945: free EEPROM data on remove il3945_pci_probe() calls… (CVE-2026-98710)

The Linux kernel iwlegacy driver for Intel 3945 wireless devices calls il_eeprom_init() during il3945_pci_probe(), which allocates memory for EEPROM data. While probe failure paths correctly free this memory, the remove path (il3945_pci_remove()) did not free the EEPROM data after a successful probe, causing a memory leak when the PCI device is removed. The fix involves freeing the EEPROM data in il3945_pci_remove() before releasing the mac80211 hardware structure. This vulnerability was discovered by manual code inspection.

The vulnerability causes a memory leak when the affected PCI wireless device is removed. This could lead to increased memory usage over time on affected systems, potentially degrading system stability or performance. There is no indication of direct security compromise such as code execution or information disclosure.

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to free the EEPROM data during device removal. Users should update to the kernel version that includes this fix. Since this is a kernel-level fix, applying the official kernel update or patch from the Linux distribution vendor will remediate the issue.