CVE-2026-72004 (GCVE-0-2026-72004)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-15 05:51 – Updated: 2026-08-17 05:06
VLAI
Title
wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw()
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw() If kmemdup() fails while copying supported band structures, the error path jumps to fail_rate. This skips rate_control_deinitialize() and leaks the initialized local->rate_ctrl. Fix this by adding a fail_band label that shares the rate-control cleanup path before falling through to the remaining teardown. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1-rc7. An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have a suitable mac80211 device/driver combination to test with, no runtime testing was able to be performed.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df , < f01eec75fd372961550b928902f3a2c11fca1daf (git)
Affected: 09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df , < 3d8b9b290421c3cd505fcd2f551f143f8142786a (git)
Affected: 09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df , < 08b71bd92317f99642b842cfc0d30200868162fc (git)
Affected: 09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df , < a02b52fe54f7b5107aefa1ce28c2f69749c57616 (git)
Affected: 09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df , < 45e9ac538cdff7bce656d731114a64eda85af0d7 (git)
Affected: 09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df , < bdc0b8bfdc142439d6708b072e8159eb515ee7b0 (git)
Affected: 09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df , < a7584f261e64fe14e45bdf70f343e16c1ee3a037 (git)
Affected: 09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df , < 95fc02722edde02946d0d475221f2b2054d3d8ba (git)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Linux Linux Affected: 4.20
Unaffected: 0 , < 4.20 (semver)
Unaffected: 5.10.261 , ≤ 5.10.* (semver)
Unaffected: 5.15.212 , ≤ 5.15.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.1.178 , ≤ 6.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.6.145 , ≤ 6.6.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.12.97 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.18.40 , ≤ 6.18.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.1.5 , ≤ 7.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.2 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website
To clipboard 

{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "net/mac80211/main.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "f01eec75fd372961550b928902f3a2c11fca1daf",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "3d8b9b290421c3cd505fcd2f551f143f8142786a",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "08b71bd92317f99642b842cfc0d30200868162fc",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "a02b52fe54f7b5107aefa1ce28c2f69749c57616",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "45e9ac538cdff7bce656d731114a64eda85af0d7",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "bdc0b8bfdc142439d6708b072e8159eb515ee7b0",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "a7584f261e64fe14e45bdf70f343e16c1ee3a037",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
              "versionType": "git"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "95fc02722edde02946d0d475221f2b2054d3d8ba",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
              "versionType": "git"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "net/mac80211/main.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "4.20"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "4.20",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "5.10.261",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "5.15.212",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.1.178",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.6.145",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.12.97",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.18.40",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.1.5",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.2",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
        {
          "nodes": [
            {
              "cpeMatch": [
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "5.10.261",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "5.15.212",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.178",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.6.145",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.97",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.40",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.1.5",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.2",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "4.20",
                  "vulnerable": true
                }
              ],
              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw()\n\nIf kmemdup() fails while copying supported band structures, the error\npath jumps to fail_rate. This skips rate_control_deinitialize() and\nleaks the initialized local-\u003erate_ctrl.\n\nFix this by adding a fail_band label that shares the rate-control cleanup\npath before falling through to the remaining teardown.\n\nThe bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are\ndeveloping for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing\nv6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly\navailable. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in\nv7.1-rc7.\n\nAn x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have a\nsuitable mac80211 device/driver combination to test with, no runtime\ntesting was able to be performed."
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:06:25.480Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f01eec75fd372961550b928902f3a2c11fca1daf"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d8b9b290421c3cd505fcd2f551f143f8142786a"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08b71bd92317f99642b842cfc0d30200868162fc"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a02b52fe54f7b5107aefa1ce28c2f69749c57616"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/45e9ac538cdff7bce656d731114a64eda85af0d7"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bdc0b8bfdc142439d6708b072e8159eb515ee7b0"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7584f261e64fe14e45bdf70f343e16c1ee3a037"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95fc02722edde02946d0d475221f2b2054d3d8ba"
        }
      ],
      "title": "wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw()",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-72004",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-15T05:51:35.363Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-08-09T03:40:39.898Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:06:25.480Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "epss": {
      "cve": "CVE-2026-72004",
      "date": "2026-09-21",
      "epss": "0.00211",
      "percentile": "0.11588"
    },
    "nvd": {
      "cve": {
        "affected": [
          {
            "affectedData": [
              {
                "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
                "product": "Linux",
                "programFiles": [
                  "net/mac80211/main.c"
                ],
                "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
                "vendor": "Linux",
                "versions": [
                  {
                    "lessThan": "f01eec75fd372961550b928902f3a2c11fca1daf",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "3d8b9b290421c3cd505fcd2f551f143f8142786a",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "08b71bd92317f99642b842cfc0d30200868162fc",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "a02b52fe54f7b5107aefa1ce28c2f69749c57616",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "45e9ac538cdff7bce656d731114a64eda85af0d7",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "bdc0b8bfdc142439d6708b072e8159eb515ee7b0",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "a7584f261e64fe14e45bdf70f343e16c1ee3a037",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "95fc02722edde02946d0d475221f2b2054d3d8ba",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "09b4a4faf9d037990ac4f8110dd944b27b42d5df",
                    "versionType": "git"
                  }
                ]
              },
              {
                "defaultStatus": "affected",
                "product": "Linux",
                "programFiles": [
                  "net/mac80211/main.c"
                ],
                "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
                "vendor": "Linux",
                "versions": [
                  {
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "4.20"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThan": "4.20",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "0",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "5.10.261",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "5.15.212",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "6.1.178",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "6.6.145",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "6.12.97",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "6.18.40",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "7.1.*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "7.1.5",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  },
                  {
                    "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
                    "status": "unaffected",
                    "version": "7.2",
                    "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ],
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
          }
        ],
        "cveTags": [],
        "descriptions": [
          {
            "lang": "en",
            "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw()\n\nIf kmemdup() fails while copying supported band structures, the error\npath jumps to fail_rate. This skips rate_control_deinitialize() and\nleaks the initialized local-\u003erate_ctrl.\n\nFix this by adding a fail_band label that shares the rate-control cleanup\npath before falling through to the remaining teardown.\n\nThe bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are\ndeveloping for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing\nv6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly\navailable. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in\nv7.1-rc7.\n\nAn x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have a\nsuitable mac80211 device/driver combination to test with, no runtime\ntesting was able to be performed."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2026-72004",
        "lastModified": "2026-08-17T06:17:57.830",
        "metrics": {},
        "published": "2026-08-15T06:20:58.987",
        "references": [
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08b71bd92317f99642b842cfc0d30200868162fc"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d8b9b290421c3cd505fcd2f551f143f8142786a"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/45e9ac538cdff7bce656d731114a64eda85af0d7"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95fc02722edde02946d0d475221f2b2054d3d8ba"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a02b52fe54f7b5107aefa1ce28c2f69749c57616"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7584f261e64fe14e45bdf70f343e16c1ee3a037"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bdc0b8bfdc142439d6708b072e8159eb515ee7b0"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f01eec75fd372961550b928902f3a2c11fca1daf"
          }
        ],
        "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "vulnStatus": "Received"
      }
    },
    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Low",
      "current_release_date": "2026-08-19T05:26:38+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-72004",
      "id": "CVE-2026-72004",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-08-15T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "198",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "76",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw()",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-72004.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.





Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.



Related by attack behaviour

Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.