CVE-2026-98706
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's mac80211 wireless subsystem. A local user or adjacent attacker could trigger a Denial of Service (DoS) resulting in a system crash. This issue arises from a race condition during the removal of an access point (AP) or mesh station, where background power-save frame delivery tasks continue running after station cleanup has already begun. This timing window causes operations on already purged driver queues and data structures, corrupting state and destabilizing the kernel.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Moderate severity because exploitation requires an adjacent attacker within wireless range or a local user on a host operating as a wireless access point or mesh node, and is limited to causing a denial of service without compromising data confidentiality or system integrity. Standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux server installations rarely utilize wireless networking hardware or run access point services, substantially limiting the attack surface in enterprise environments. Virtual machines and bare-metal systems lacking wireless network adapters are unaffected by this flaw during normal operation.
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 | 5.3 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Adjacent Network | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | N/A | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | 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:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure what something means? Check out our Security Glossary.
Want to get errata notifications? Sign up here.
