Memory leak via invalid NWIFI header cleanup
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
Memory leak in the Linux ath12k Wi-Fi driver allows attackers to consume kernel memory via an invalid NWIFI header. During TKIP MIC verification, ath12k_wifi7_dp_rx_h_verify_tkip_mic returns after failed header-length validation, and ath12k_wifi7_dp_rx_h_defrag then nulls first_frag without freeing the corresponding MSDU. The error path requires affected ath12k Wi-Fi 7 receive handling; the published record limits the demonstrated consequence to one unreleased MSDU per failure and reports testing on WCN7850 hardware.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the Linux ath12k Wi-Fi driver allows attackers to consume kernel memory via an invalid NWIFI header. During TKIP MIC verification, ath12k_wifi7_dp_rx_h_verify_tkip_mic returns after failed header-length validation, and ath12k_wifi7_dp_rx_h_defrag then nulls first_frag without freeing the corresponding MSDU. The error path requires affected ath12k Wi-Fi 7 receive handling; the published record limits the demonstrated consequence to one unreleased MSDU per failure and reports testing on WCN7850 hardware.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-74368
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 15, 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.
- Affected versionversion=3abe15e756481c45f6acba3d476cb3ca4afc3b61
- Affected versionversion=50be1fb76556e80af9f5da80f28168b6c71bce58
- Affected versionversion=6.12.24 <6.13
- Affected versionversion=6.13.12 <6.14
- Affected versionversion=6.14.3 <6.15
- Affected versionversion=6.15
- Affected versionversion=6.6.88 <6.7
- Affected versionversion=6ee653194ddb83674913fd2727b8ecfae0597ade
- Affected versionversion=7f1d986da5c6abb75ffe4d0d325fc9b341c41a1c
- Affected versionversion=9a0dddfb30f120db3851627935851d262e4e7acb <5187a92099778501f21af76ed6c8415d128e7298
- Affected versionversion=9a0dddfb30f120db3851627935851d262e4e7acb <98d4f92ab6a1af2ea2ab590d7e2801b203110981
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo