CVE-2026-97516
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's rtw88 wireless driver. The driver fails to verify whether certain hardware configuration settings exist before accessing them during firmware adaptivity processing. On systems equipped with specific wireless chipsets, this flaw triggers a null pointer dereference that crashes the kernel, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
Statement
A low-impact NULL pointer dereference flaw was found in the Linux kernel rtw88 wireless driver. The rtw_fw_adaptivity_result() function in fw.c dereferences rtwdev->chip->edcca_th without first verifying that the pointer is defined. On systems using wireless chipsets whose chip information does not define edcca_th, such as the Realtek 8821CE, processing a firmware adaptivity result triggers a kernel oops, resulting in a local denial of service. Chipsets that do define edcca_th, such as the 8822CE, are not affected by this issue. Red Hat Product Security has rated this flaw as low impact because triggering it requires local access to a system running the affected driver on such hardware and the consequence is limited to loss of availability, with no impact to confidentiality or integrity. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 7 ELS streams and RHEL 8.4 are not affected because the vulnerable code is not present in those kernels. For the affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat In-Vehicle OS, and OpenShift Container Platform streams, the fix is currently deferred in line with the low impact rating, and the residual risk is limited to a kernel crash (denial of service) on systems equipped with the affected Realtek wireless chipsets. Although the Red Hat CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.5 (Moderate), the overall impact has been assessed as low based on the local attack vector and availability-only consequence. The upstream fix adds a NULL check for edcca_th at the entry of rtw_fw_adaptivity_result(), preventing the kernel oops.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.
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