In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: release mesh path quota on failed additions Repeated failed or… (CVE-2026-98701)

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.

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.

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.