Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2024-26896

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Apr 17, 2024

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A bug in certain Linux wireless drivers wastes memory when setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot, which can eventually make the computer slow or unstable if the hotspot is started repeatedly.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Low Privilege
Complexity
Theoretical
Impact
Denial Of Service
Component
OS kernel
Class
Memory Corruption
Remediation
Upgrade
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Memory leak in wfx driver where ieee80211_beacon_get allocations in wfx_set_mfp_ap during AP start are never freed, leaving unreferenced skb and buffer objects.

Why it matters to the business

Systems using this wireless driver experience gradual memory exhaustion when hosting access points, increasing risk of instability or out-of-memory conditions on long-running devices.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker or process initiates AP mode through nl80211, causing repeated beacon allocations that are not released; over multiple starts this accumulates leaked memory until system resources are depleted.

How to fix it

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing commit a1f57a0127b89a6b6620514564aa7eaec16d9af3 or later; rebuild and reboot with the patched kernel.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm kernel source contains the referenced commit; run kmemleak after AP start/stop cycles and verify no unreferenced wfx beacon objects remain.

Typical attack path

  1. Invoke nl80211_start_ap or equivalent to start AP mode
  2. Driver calls wfx_start_ap which invokes ieee80211_beacon_get_tim
  3. Beacon buffers are allocated but never freed due to missing release in wfx_set_mfp_ap
  4. Process repeats AP start/stop cycles to accelerate leak

How to detect it

Inspect kmemleak output for unreferenced objects with backtraces involving wfx_start_ap, ieee80211_beacon_get, or __alloc_skb from wpa_supplicant or similar processes; watch for unexplained memory growth correlated with AP activation.

  • unreferenced object.*wfx
  • wfx_start_ap+0xc8
  • __ieee80211_beacon_get+0x290

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel upgrade on any system exposing the wfx driver in AP mode
  • Monitor memory usage and kmemleak reports on affected hosts until patched
  • Disable AP functionality where not required as temporary mitigation

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: wfx: fix memory leak when starting AP Kmemleak reported this error: unreferenced object 0xd73d1180 (size 184): comm "wpa_supplicant", pid 1559, jiffies 13006305 (age 964.245s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 1e 00 01 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace: [<5ca11420>] kmem_cache_alloc+0x20c/0x5ac [<127bdd74>] __alloc_skb+0x144/0x170 [<fb8a5e38>] __netdev_alloc_skb+0x50/0x180 [<0f9fa1d5>] __ieee80211_beacon_get+0x290/0x4d4 [mac80211] [<7accd02d>] ieee80211_beacon_get_tim+0x54/0x18c [mac80211] [<41e25cc3>] wfx_start_ap+0xc8/0x234 [wfx] [<93a70356>] ieee80211_start_ap+0x404/0x6b4 [mac80211] [<a4a661cd>] nl80211_start_ap+0x76c/0x9e0 [cfg80211] [<47bd8b68>] genl_rcv_msg+0x198/0x378 [<453ef796>] netlink_rcv_skb+0xd0/0x130 [<6b7c977a>] genl_rcv+0x34/0x44 [<66b2d04d>] netlink_unicast+0x1b4/0x258 [<f965b9b6>] netlink_sendmsg+0x1e8/0x428 [<aadb8231>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x1e0/0x274 [<d2b5212d>] ___sys_sendmsg+0x80/0xb4 [<69954f45>] __sys_sendmsg+0x64/0xa8 unreferenced object 0xce087000 (size 1024): comm "wpa_supplicant", pid 1559, jiffies 13006305 (age 964.246s) hex dump (first 32 bytes): 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 10 00 07 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...@............ backtrace: [<9a993714>] __kmalloc_track_caller+0x230/0x600 [<f83ea192>] kmalloc_reserve.constprop.0+0x30/0x74 [<a2c61343>] __alloc_skb+0xa0/0x170 [<fb8a5e38>] __netdev_alloc_skb+0x50/0x180 [<0f9fa1d5>] __ieee80211_beacon_get+0x290/0x4d4 [mac80211] [<7accd02d>] ieee80211_beacon_get_tim+0x54/0x18c [mac80211] [<41e25cc3>] wfx_start_ap+0xc8/0x234 [wfx] [<93a70356>] ieee80211_start_ap+0x404/0x6b4 [mac80211] [<a4a661cd>] nl80211_start_ap+0x76c/0x9e0 [cfg80211] [<47bd8b68>] genl_rcv_msg+0x198/0x378 [<453ef796>] netlink_rcv_skb+0xd0/0x130 [<6b7c977a>] genl_rcv+0x34/0x44 [<66b2d04d>] netlink_unicast+0x1b4/0x258 [<f965b9b6>] netlink_sendmsg+0x1e8/0x428 [<aadb8231>] ____sys_sendmsg+0x1e0/0x274 [<d2b5212d>] ___sys_sendmsg+0x80/0xb4 However, since the kernel is build optimized, it seems the stack is not accurate. It appears the issue is related to wfx_set_mfp_ap(). The issue is obvious in this function: memory allocated by ieee80211_beacon_get() is never released. Fixing this leak makes kmemleak happy.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
Debian:11 linux 0 No fix
Debian:12 linux 0 6.1.85-1
Debian:13 linux 0 6.7.12-1
Linux Kernel 0 No fix
Linux Kernel 268bceec1684 a1f57a0127b8
Linux Kernel 5.10.0 6.1.83
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP5-RT_Update_14 0 1-150500.11.5.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP5_Update_13 0 1-150500.11.3.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-default-base 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2.150500.6.27.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.52.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 kernel-source-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.52.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-64kb 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-default-base 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2.150500.6.27.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-source 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 kernel-zfcpdump 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-docs 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-obs-build 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-source 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 kernel-syms 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5 kernel-azure 0 5.14.21-150500.33.51.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5 kernel-source-azure 0 5.14.21-150500.33.51.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP5 kernel-syms-azure 0 5.14.21-150500.33.51.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP5 kernel-default 0 5.14.21-150500.55.62.2
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.52.1
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-rt_debug 0 5.14.21-150500.13.52.1
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-source-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.52.1
SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP5 kernel-syms-rt 0 5.14.21-150500.13.52.1
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux 0 3.11.0-12.19
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.4.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-azure 0 4.15.0-1023.24~14.04.1
Ubuntu:14.04:LTS linux-lts-xenial 0 4.4.0-13.29~14.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux 0 4.4.0-2.16
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.4.0-1001.10
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-aws-hwe 0 4.15.0-1030.31~16.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-azure 0 4.11.0-1009.9
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 4.10.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 4.8.0-39.42~16.04.1
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 4.4.0-1004.9
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 4.15.0-1007.9~16.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux 0 4.13.0-16.19
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws 0 4.15.0-1001.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-aws-5.4 0 5.4.0-1018.18~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-4.15 0 4.15.0-1082.92
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-5.4 0 5.4.0-1020.20~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-azure-edge 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-4.15 0 4.15.0-1071.81
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.4 0 5.4.0-1019.19~18.04.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gke-4.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gke-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.4 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.4 0 5.4.0-37.41~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-hwe-edge 0 5.0.0-15.16~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.4 0 5.4.0-1010.11~18.04.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 4.15.0-1002.2
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oem 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 4.15.0-1007.9
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.3 0 No fix
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.4 0 5.4.0-1019.19~18.04.1
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS linux-raspi-5.4 0 5.4.0-1013.13~18.04.1
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux 0 5.4.0-9.12
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.4.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-aws-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.4.0-1006.6
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-bluefield 0 5.4.0-1007.10
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 5.4.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gke-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.4.0-1008.9
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-gkeop-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.4.0-1003.4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-ibm-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-iot 0 5.4.0-1001.3
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.4.0-1004.4
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.10 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.14 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oem-5.6 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 5.4.0-1005.5
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.13 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-oracle-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.4.0-1007.7
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-raspi2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.11 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.15 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.8 0 No fix
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.4.0-1020.24
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux 0 5.15.0-160.170
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-allwinner-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws 0 5.15.0-1095.102
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-aws-6.8 0 6.8.0-1009.9~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure 0 5.15.0-1098.107
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-6.8 0 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-azure-fde-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp 0 5.15.0-1095.104
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gcp-6.8 0 6.8.0-1010.11~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gke 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gke 0 5.15.0-1091.97
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-gkeop 0 5.15.0-1078.86
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-ibm 0 5.15.0-1089.92
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iot-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-intel-iotg 0 5.15.0-1090.96
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-kvm 0 5.15.0-1089.94
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency 0 5.15.0-160.170
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.2
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia 0 5.15.0-1090.91
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-6.8 0 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra 0 5.15.0-1047.47
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra-igx 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-nvidia-tegra-igx 0 5.15.0-1036.36
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-5.17 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.0 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.1 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oem-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle 0 5.15.0-1092.98
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-oracle-6.8 0 6.8.0-1006.6~22.04.3
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-raspi 0 5.15.0-1089.92
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-realtime 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-riscv-6.8 0 6.8.0-38.38.1~22.04.1
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-5.19 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.2 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-starfive-6.5 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 No fix
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS linux-xilinx-zynqmp 0 5.15.0-1059.63
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS:for:NVIDIA:BlueField linux-bluefield 0 No fix
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux 0 6.8.0-35.35
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS linux-aws 0 6.8.0-1009.9

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