Kernel heap disclosure via TDLS RCU race
Published Apr 2, 2024 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux kernel mac80211 allows physically proximate attackers to disclose kernel heap data through crafted WLAN activity. ieee80211_check_fast_xmit dereferences sdata->link[link_id] without guaranteed RCU protection while link teardown can free that object, then copies six stale bytes into the cached frame address. Exploitation requires an 802.11be MLD association, a TDLS peer on a separately allocated link, and a susceptible RCU configuration; a successful race can leak heap bytes, corrupt transmitted frames, or crash the kernel.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux kernel mac80211 allows physically proximate attackers to disclose kernel heap data through crafted WLAN activity. ieee80211_check_fast_xmit dereferences sdata->link[link_id] without guaranteed RCU protection while link teardown can free that object, then copies six stale bytes into the cached frame address. Exploitation requires an 802.11be MLD association, a TDLS peer on a separately allocated link, and a susceptible RCU configuration; a successful race can leak heap bytes, corrupt transmitted frames, or crash the kernel.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-26666
- Published
- Apr 2, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 2, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=6.5
- Affected versionversion=8cc07265b69141f8ed9597d0f27185239c241c80 <9480adfe4e0f0319b9da04b44e4eebd5ad07e0cd
- Affected versionversion=8cc07265b69141f8ed9597d0f27185239c241c80 <c255c3b653c6e8b52ac658c305e2fece2825f7ad
- Affected versionversion=8cc07265b69141f8ed9597d0f27185239c241c80 <fc3432ae8232ff4025e7c55012dd88db0e3d18eb
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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