Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2026-98706

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Oct 18, 2026

CISA due date

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Cloudanix analysis

Schedule a fix SSVC: Track

A timing flaw in Linux wireless handling can cause crashes when devices connect or disconnect under power-saving conditions.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Low Privilege
Complexity
Moderate
Impact
Denial Of Service
Component
OS kernel
Class
Race Condition
Remediation
Upgrade
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Low

What it actually does

Race condition during station teardown in mac80211 allows sta_deliver_ps_frames() to execute after sta->dead is set and the station is removed from the driver, causing invalid accesses to power-save queues and driver state.

Why it matters to the business

Linux Wi-Fi subsystems can experience crashes or unexpected behavior during client disconnection or power-save transitions, leading to network instability on affected systems.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access or control over Wi-Fi station lifecycle events manipulates power-save delivery timing to race against station removal, allowing the worker to run after driver state has been torn down.

How to fix it

Apply the upstream fix that moves cancel_work_sync() after setting sta->dead and before driver state transitions, then rebuild and deploy the patched kernel.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the presence of the corrected ordering of cancel_work_sync() calls in __cleanup_single_sta() and test station insert/teardown sequences under power-save conditions.

Typical attack path

  1. Trigger station addition with power-save enabled
  2. Initiate station teardown while delivery work is queued
  3. Delay the worker past the sta->dead assignment
  4. Resume delivery against removed driver state

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for mac80211 warnings or crashes during station removal; inspect call traces referencing sta_deliver_ps_frames or __cleanup_single_sta.

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel updates on all Wi-Fi enabled Linux hosts
  • Monitor for mac80211-related oops or WARN_ON in kernel logs
  • Test power-save and roaming scenarios after patching

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: drain PS delivery work during station teardown Removing an AP or mesh station can notify the driver and wake TXQs after the station has already been removed from the driver, and can update num_sta_ps and the power-save queues after station cleanup has purged them. sta_deliver_ps_frames() tests sta->dead only before it starts delivery. A worker that passes that test can be delayed while teardown sets sta->dead and removes the station from the driver; when it resumes it still runs the full delivery. The existing cancel_work_sync() sits near the end of __cleanup_single_sta(), after the final driver state transition and after PS accounting and queue purging, so it drains the worker only once the state it has to protect has already changed. Before commit d34ba2168a3c ("mac80211: don't delay station destruction") cleanup was deferred through the same ordered workqueue as the delivery work, which kept the two ordered. Cancel the work after setting sta->dead and before moving the driver state, and move the existing cancellation to the start of __cleanup_single_sta(). The first drain closes the driver-lifetime window; driver callbacks during the remaining state transitions can still queue drv_deliver_wk through ieee80211_sta_block_awake(), so retain the second drain at the start of __cleanup_single_sta(). That drain also covers insertion failures, which reach cleanup without setting sta->dead.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed