Kernel panic via incorrect transmit-band selection
Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Incorrect band selection in Linux mac80211 allows attackers to crash the kernel during offloaded Wi-Fi frame transmission. In net/mac80211/tx.c, ieee80211_8023_xmit() leaves info->band at zero on non-MLD interfaces instead of copying the channel context, causing ieee80211_get_tx_rates() to select the wrong band. The documented failure requires hardware encapsulation offload and a rate-control fallback during roaming on an affected wireless configuration, producing a kernel panic rather than demonstrated code execution.
Summary
What happened
Incorrect band selection in Linux mac80211 allows attackers to crash the kernel during offloaded Wi-Fi frame transmission. In net/mac80211/tx.c, ieee80211_8023_xmit() leaves info->band at zero on non-MLD interfaces instead of copying the channel context, causing ieee80211_get_tx_rates() to select the wrong band. The documented failure requires hardware encapsulation offload and a rate-control fallback during roaming on an affected wireless configuration, producing a kernel panic rather than demonstrated code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98700
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 18, 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=50ff477a8639fa1fbbeecb5a6f2f8b6c5557ecec <2d9c5525bbc1a548cdc9c4def3cd7fbfc7c66b5b
- Affected versionversion=50ff477a8639fa1fbbeecb5a6f2f8b6c5557ecec <4febc02cd02f021f2b6d0768332be643ef14a12d
- Affected versionversion=50ff477a8639fa1fbbeecb5a6f2f8b6c5557ecec <93c1b247224a32f546b616a8fe87b9bab20f0a7f
- Affected versionversion=50ff477a8639fa1fbbeecb5a6f2f8b6c5557ecec <9cedbfde1450028f530e9af950f53491fcaebfeb
- Affected versionversion=5.7
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
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
Get started to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Get started