Conditional kernel panic via stale BSS collision
Published Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026
Wi-Fi BSS handling in Linux allows physically proximate attackers operating a rogue access point to trigger a kernel warning during a channel switch. In cfg80211_update_assoc_bss_entry(), a BSS-type filter leaves a conflicting stale entry in the tree before cfg80211_rehash_bss() encounters it. The warning becomes a kernel panic only on hosts configured to panic on warnings; no data access or code execution is established.
Summary
What happened
Wi-Fi BSS handling in Linux allows physically proximate attackers operating a rogue access point to trigger a kernel warning during a channel switch. In cfg80211_update_assoc_bss_entry(), a BSS-type filter leaves a conflicting stale entry in the tree before cfg80211_rehash_bss() encounters it. The warning becomes a kernel panic only on hosts configured to panic on warnings; no data access or code execution is established.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98339
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0afd425b1b64251f19b5d8d8b49bf56fefbc643f <0aa44982125c86b47961be5ac1c82eddab8080f3
- Affected versionversion=0afd425b1b64251f19b5d8d8b49bf56fefbc643f <1380ee3a202dbb9f8e8b3c3b87eb410450d57799
- Affected versionversion=0afd425b1b64251f19b5d8d8b49bf56fefbc643f <64e23a36d8f04811372365b44cfca325f8e0f4bb
- Affected versionversion=0afd425b1b64251f19b5d8d8b49bf56fefbc643f <65fdb973bd905bc3f5cb045a04c1828f2d2a7e24
- Affected versionversion=0afd425b1b64251f19b5d8d8b49bf56fefbc643f <6d2fd26185678038ef2ea11dd4d2e6eccbf2dd25
- Affected versionversion=0afd425b1b64251f19b5d8d8b49bf56fefbc643f <6ef87a853327434ae1cd9c5a2c27a557fb4047fc
- Affected versionversion=0afd425b1b64251f19b5d8d8b49bf56fefbc643f <b377e1000d963e7182a987082b4b06580bd7ac84
- Affected versionversion=0afd425b1b64251f19b5d8d8b49bf56fefbc643f <fb445ec7480da5d2b82bf681e3b4313603722729
- Affected versionversion=5.4
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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- syzkaller C reproducer for cfg80211_rehash_bss warningproof of concept · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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