SB20261007184 - NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel mac80211

Description

This security bulletin contains information about 1 vulnerability.

1) NULL pointer dereference (CVE-ID: CVE-2026-98182)

CWE-ID: CWE-476 - NULL Pointer Dereference

CVSSv4: 6.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]

The vulnerability allows a local privileged user to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to a null pointer dereference in mac80211 monitor-interface handling and the ath9k driver when activating a monitor interface without a transmit queue. A local privileged user can set the active flag on a down monitor interface and then bring the interface up to cause a denial of service.

Exploitation requires the CAP_NET_ADMIN capability. The RTNL lock remains held, causing subsequent netlink operations to block.

Remediation

Install update from vendor's website.

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b04d6556964ae9f89819b86a0a7801e39c3aae5
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46c223468537a05a404699771cd3e68532dab5e6
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/abe15e643e576459469867758ae9c586a7bab95d
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b7b7d46ec4fa127767931938b282c361c0519af6