Memory corruption via premature Wi-Fi link freeing
Published Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 17, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux 6.18 mt7996 Wi-Fi reset cleanup allows attackers to cause memory corruption during a full reset. mt7996_mac_reset_vif_iter() schedules non-default links for freeing while dev->wcid[] retains their embedded pointers, which mt76_reset_device() subsequently uses for cleanup. Exposure requires the affected driver and an intervening RCU grace period; an attacker-controlled trigger and specific crash outcome are not documented.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux 6.18 mt7996 Wi-Fi reset cleanup allows attackers to cause memory corruption during a full reset. mt7996_mac_reset_vif_iter() schedules non-default links for freeing while dev->wcid[] retains their embedded pointers, which mt76_reset_device() subsequently uses for cleanup. Exposure requires the affected driver and an intervening RCU grace period; an attacker-controlled trigger and specific crash outcome are not documented.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-90356
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 17, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 17, 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=6.18
- Affected versionversion=ace5d3b6b49e8391beb4d7244348ba7da5298878 <2b10eb3636d0c4cb6b763e045ec1294dbd70f5ad
- Affected versionversion=ace5d3b6b49e8391beb4d7244348ba7da5298878 <7e4208e9f6a876c2b7d28fdb6b86dff3b05db2f7
- Affected versionversion=ace5d3b6b49e8391beb4d7244348ba7da5298878 <8826d7a5e2dd727aa96456ccd58b33d2b080e935
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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