Wireless startup disruption via duplicate station cleanup
Published Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026
Double deallocation in Linux iwlegacy allows attackers to disrupt Intel 4965 Wi-Fi initialization by toggling RF_KILL during startup. On the __il4965_up() error path, il_dealloc_bcast_stations() clears IL_STA_UCODE_ACTIVE but leaves IL_STA_BCAST set, so __il4965_down() deallocates the same stations again. The fault requires an Intel 4965 adapter and an RF_KILL change during driver startup; builds retaining the earlier BUG_ON() station-count check can crash the kernel.
Summary
What happened
Double deallocation in Linux iwlegacy allows attackers to disrupt Intel 4965 Wi-Fi initialization by toggling RF_KILL during startup. On the __il4965_up() error path, il_dealloc_bcast_stations() clears IL_STA_UCODE_ACTIVE but leaves IL_STA_BCAST set, so __il4965_down() deallocates the same stations again. The fault requires an Intel 4965 adapter and an RF_KILL change during driver startup; builds retaining the earlier BUG_ON() station-count check can crash the kernel.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98195
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 6, 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=4.7
- Affected versionversion=c2fd34469d1623111e3c3db65cde533f3bddc26e <1d84c2a3de449aceb94ed79eaefecdf1bedb6468
- Affected versionversion=c2fd34469d1623111e3c3db65cde533f3bddc26e <275d474a4b4bd4e73b18b1452f12e78806a8843a
- Affected versionversion=c2fd34469d1623111e3c3db65cde533f3bddc26e <526fdd45548e22eee50ee1062abd88269d9f32e0
- Affected versionversion=c2fd34469d1623111e3c3db65cde533f3bddc26e <55d34422c0d91436983028fd3c1546a1c2bee55f
- Affected versionversion=c2fd34469d1623111e3c3db65cde533f3bddc26e <85d847ff71fe736cbc15ada321256818e630e205
- Affected versionversion=c2fd34469d1623111e3c3db65cde533f3bddc26e <a9176fe666af1730cab92350f9c8cf67ebf14439
- Affected versionversion=c2fd34469d1623111e3c3db65cde533f3bddc26e <b5526b780f8b297a76030410b96ba29153afb98f
- Affected versionversion=c2fd34469d1623111e3c3db65cde533f3bddc26e <c9a116d691364cd7f59d8329b395adcaf826d5c6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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