Kernel warning via transmit-status buffer double free
Published Jul 19, 2026 · Updated Jul 19, 2026
Double free in the Linux kernel ath11k driver from 5.6 allows attackers to trigger a warning during device removal after initialization failure. The ath11k_dp_alloc error path frees every transmit-ring tx_status buffer without clearing the pointer, so ath11k_dp_free frees the buffer again during teardown. Failed ath11k firmware initialization is required; a VM with failed MSI address initialization reproduces the warning during unbinding.
Summary
What happened
Double free in the Linux kernel ath11k driver from 5.6 allows attackers to trigger a warning during device removal after initialization failure. The ath11k_dp_alloc error path frees every transmit-ring tx_status buffer without clearing the pointer, so ath11k_dp_free frees the buffer again during teardown. Failed ath11k firmware initialization is required; a VM with failed MSI address initialization reproduces the warning during unbinding.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-63822
- Published
- Jul 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 19, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 19, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=5.6
- Affected versionversion=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d <051f954b94479d72222c9fbc82a3eef4777bca01
- Affected versionversion=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d <0a946abb82f29abe9a15173b707a449cb039b43e
- Affected versionversion=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d <0aa097a370277deab5337030b9e2d395742f469c
- Affected versionversion=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d <318703b6f71d1a29ee0ac46c32a38f7734d4cfb2
- Affected versionversion=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d <40aa3c2b0cb8e34e0576fc94cc70e4e33db03c0a
- Affected versionversion=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d <7b2e62b9080bf4a5f4e70cfe47156df8d93a4f13
- Affected versionversion=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d <8b7a26b6681922a38cd5a7829ace61f8e54df9b7
- Affected versionversion=d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d <e569a5cb401a267168621aa9a1e7f07fcc9612c3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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