CVE-2026-68409

System crash via prematurely freed RX statistics

Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

Use-after-free in the Linux kernel mac80211 Wi-Fi stack allows attackers to crash systems via adjacent-network MLO traffic. sta_remove_link() releases a removed link's per-CPU RX statistics before RCU readers finish, leaving the RX fast path to write through an expired pointer. Exposure requires MLO link removal with uses_rss enabled and a reader winning the documented race; the bounded reported consequence is system instability or a crash.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability0.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in the Linux kernel mac80211 Wi-Fi stack allows attackers to crash systems via adjacent-network MLO traffic. sta_remove_link() releases a removed link's per-CPU RX statistics before RCU readers finish, leaving the RX fast path to write through an expired pointer. Exposure requires MLO link removal with uses_rss enabled and a reader winning the documented race; the bounded reported consequence is system instability or a crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68409
Published
Aug 10, 2026
Updated
Aug 10, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-825, T1499.004
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 10, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 10, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.0
  2. Affected versionversion=c71420db653aba30a234d1e4cf86dde376e604fa <2aa1789880fa5e41049b0f6a74a4fc2fa1997610
  3. Affected versionversion=c71420db653aba30a234d1e4cf86dde376e604fa <a03fceae0c65b31ce31840dac5e26684ceecb65b
  4. Affected versionversion=c71420db653aba30a234d1e4cf86dde376e604fa <aa2eb62525188269cdd402a583b9a8ed94657ff0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.0; version=c71420db653aba30a234d1e4cf86dde376e604fa <2aa1789880fa5e41049b0f6a74a4fc2fa1997610; version=c71420db653aba30a234d1e4cf86dde376e604fa <a03fceae0c65b31ce31840dac5e26684ceecb65b; version=c71420db653aba30a234d1e4cf86dde376e604fa <aa2eb62525188269cdd402a583b9a8ed94657ff0

Published CVSS scores

8.8Linux CVE TeamCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.0Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-825Expired Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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