CVE-2026-98708
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's mac80211 wireless subsystem. A local user could exploit this flaw to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) or system instability. During in-place channel context replacement, an old channel context can be freed prematurely while still referenced by its replacement context. Subsequent link operations access the stale pointer, triggering a use-after-free condition that leads to a kernel crash.
Statement
A lifetime management flaw in mac80211 can free an old WILL_BE_REPLACED channel context while its REPLACES_OTHER partner still retains a reciprocal replace_ctx pointer. A later unreserve or switch finalization path can follow this stale pointer and cause a use after free, with a possible repeated free of the old channel context depending on the later cleanup path. Impact is at least a local denial of service through kernel memory corruption and a kernel crash. In the worst still defensible case the stale kernel object may permit confidentiality and integrity impact or local privilege escalation, although a controllable write primitive is not proven by the supplied code. For the CVSS the PR:L reflects a local user or service with delegated wireless configuration capability rather than an unauthenticated remote attacker. AC:H reflects the required multi-vif in-place replacement and teardown sequence. The issue is not directly network reachable based on the supplied paths, and wireless traffic alone is not sufficient evidence of remote triggering.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't 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 | 4.7 | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | High | 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:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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