CVE-2026-90398 (GCVE-0-2026-90398)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-09-17 16:09 – Updated: 2026-09-18 17:55
VLAI
Title
wifi: ath11k: fix stride mismatch in mac_phy_caps_parse()
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath11k: fix stride mismatch in mac_phy_caps_parse() Currently, in ath11k_wmi_tlv_mac_phy_caps_parse(), kcalloc() sizes the mac_phy_caps buffer as tot_phy_id * len, where len is clamped to min(firmware_len, sizeof(struct wmi_mac_phy_capabilities)). The subsequent memcpy() destination advances by sizeof(full struct) per slot via C pointer arithmetic, not by the clamped len. When firmware sends short TLVs, the second and later slots are written past the end of the allocation. The reader in ath11k_pull_mac_phy_cap_svc_ready_ext() also indexes the buffer with full-struct pointer arithmetic, so the allocation must match that stride. Fix by using kzalloc_objs(), which derives the element size from the pointer type, making allocation size and pointer stride provably consistent regardless of what len the firmware provides. Compile tested only.
Severity
8.4 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 5b90fc760db5a969ed26d70f8e62c91915f012bd , < bbb3b3334a9ed850c5b332eedea107796e691237 (git)
Affected: 5b90fc760db5a969ed26d70f8e62c91915f012bd , < 75185e2b214e842b7e0af29e5d1fef155662b8b1 (git)
Affected: 5b90fc760db5a969ed26d70f8e62c91915f012bd , < acff2713c3212ade15051e7b421f15c89927e70f (git)
Affected: 5b90fc760db5a969ed26d70f8e62c91915f012bd , < 7a246c72132eb943b5844ba79dad597b47429dba (git)
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Linux Linux Affected: 5.6
Unaffected: 0 , < 5.6 (semver)
Unaffected: 6.12.110 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.18.52 , ≤ 6.18.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.2.6 , ≤ 7.2.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.3-rc1 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
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{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath11k/wmi.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
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              "status": "affected",
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              "versionType": "git"
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              "versionType": "git"
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        {
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          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath11k/wmi.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "5.6"
            },
            {
              "lessThan": "5.6",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "0",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.12.110",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "6.18.52",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "7.2.*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.2.6",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
            {
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.3-rc1",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "cpeApplicability": [
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          "nodes": [
            {
              "cpeMatch": [
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.110",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "5.6",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.52",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "5.6",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.2.6",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "5.6",
                  "vulnerable": true
                },
                {
                  "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                  "versionEndExcluding": "7.3-rc1",
                  "versionStartIncluding": "5.6",
                  "vulnerable": true
                }
              ],
              "negate": false,
              "operator": "OR"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath11k: fix stride mismatch in mac_phy_caps_parse()\n\nCurrently, in ath11k_wmi_tlv_mac_phy_caps_parse(), kcalloc() sizes the\nmac_phy_caps buffer as tot_phy_id * len, where len is clamped to\nmin(firmware_len, sizeof(struct wmi_mac_phy_capabilities)). The subsequent\nmemcpy() destination advances by sizeof(full struct) per slot via C\npointer arithmetic, not by the clamped len. When firmware sends short\nTLVs, the second and later slots are written past the end of the\nallocation.\n\nThe reader in ath11k_pull_mac_phy_cap_svc_ready_ext() also indexes the\nbuffer with full-struct pointer arithmetic, so the allocation must match\nthat stride.\n\nFix by using kzalloc_objs(), which derives the element size from the\npointer type, making allocation size and pointer stride provably\nconsistent regardless of what len the firmware provides.\n\nCompile tested only."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "baseScore": 8.4,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:L - The short WMI_TAG_MAC_PHY_CAPABILITIES lengths that undersize kcalloc() arrive in WMI_SERVICE_READY_EXT_EVENTID on the target-to-host WMI Copy Engine (CE2 \u2192 ath11k_ce_recv_process_cb \u2192 ath11k_htc_rx_completion_handler \u2192 ath11k_wmi_tlv_op_rx), a host-firmware HTC path, not over-the-air 802.11 frames.\nAC:L - wmi_tlv_policies has no min_len for WMI_TAG_MAC_PHY_CAPABILITIES, and tot_phy_id is the firmware phy_id_map shift-count from ath11k_wmi_tlv_hw_mode_caps_parse(); a SERVICE_READY_EXT with tot_phy_id\u003e=2 and TLV len \u003c sizeof(struct wmi_mac_phy_capabilities) makes the memcpy() past the allocation deterministic, with no race.\nPR:N - ath11k_service_ready_ext_event() runs from the WMI HTC rx callback during ath11k_core_start() with no capability, credential, or host authentication check; the device firmware is the sole source of the MAC_PHY_CAPABILITIES TLVs.\nUI:N - ath11k_wmi_wait_for_service_ready() in ath11k_core_start() consumes SERVICE_READY_EXT on probe and again from ath11k_core_reconfigure_on_crash(); no victim action such as mounting a volume or opening a file is required.\nS:U - The overflowed memcpy() corrupts the GFP_ATOMIC mac_phy_caps heap object inside the host kernel\u0027s ath11k WMI parser and does not cross a VM, IOMMU, or other separate security authority.\nC:H - Firmware-chosen bytes are written past the tot_phy_id*len kcalloc() at sizeof(struct wmi_mac_phy_capabilities) strides (~232 bytes), which is heap memory corruption that can be leveraged for arbitrary disclosure.\nI:H - Each overflowed memcpy() in ath11k_wmi_tlv_mac_phy_caps_parse() stores firmware-chosen TLV payload past the mac_phy_caps heap object, an out-of-bounds kernel write of attacker-controlled length and contents.\nA:H - The same heap overflow of mac_phy_caps, and later full-struct indexing in ath11k_pull_mac_phy_cap_svc_ready_ext(), can oops or panic the kernel."
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-09-18T17:55:05.394Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbb3b3334a9ed850c5b332eedea107796e691237"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75185e2b214e842b7e0af29e5d1fef155662b8b1"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/acff2713c3212ade15051e7b421f15c89927e70f"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a246c72132eb943b5844ba79dad597b47429dba"
        }
      ],
      "title": "wifi: ath11k: fix stride mismatch in mac_phy_caps_parse()",
      "x_generator": {
        "engine": "bippy-1.2.0"
      }
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  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-90398",
    "datePublished": "2026-09-17T16:09:29.626Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-09-11T19:38:34.811Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-09-18T17:55:05.394Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
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    "epss": {
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      "date": "2026-09-29",
      "epss": "0.00196",
      "percentile": "0.0828"
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                "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
                "product": "Linux",
                "programFiles": [
                  "drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath11k/wmi.c"
                ],
                "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
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                "vendor": "Linux",
                "versions": [
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        "cveTags": [],
        "descriptions": [
          {
            "lang": "en",
            "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath11k: fix stride mismatch in mac_phy_caps_parse()\n\nCurrently, in ath11k_wmi_tlv_mac_phy_caps_parse(), kcalloc() sizes the\nmac_phy_caps buffer as tot_phy_id * len, where len is clamped to\nmin(firmware_len, sizeof(struct wmi_mac_phy_capabilities)). The subsequent\nmemcpy() destination advances by sizeof(full struct) per slot via C\npointer arithmetic, not by the clamped len. When firmware sends short\nTLVs, the second and later slots are written past the end of the\nallocation.\n\nThe reader in ath11k_pull_mac_phy_cap_svc_ready_ext() also indexes the\nbuffer with full-struct pointer arithmetic, so the allocation must match\nthat stride.\n\nFix by using kzalloc_objs(), which derives the element size from the\npointer type, making allocation size and pointer stride provably\nconsistent regardless of what len the firmware provides.\n\nCompile tested only."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2026-90398",
        "lastModified": "2026-09-18T18:17:57.090",
        "metrics": {
          "cvssMetricV31": [
            {
              "cvssData": {
                "attackComplexity": "LOW",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "baseScore": 8.4,
                "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
                "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
                "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
                "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
                "userInteraction": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
                "version": "3.1"
              },
              "exploitabilityScore": 2.5,
              "impactScore": 5.9,
              "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
              "type": "Secondary"
            }
          ]
        },
        "published": "2026-09-17T17:17:39.530",
        "references": [
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75185e2b214e842b7e0af29e5d1fef155662b8b1"
          },
          {
            "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
            "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a246c72132eb943b5844ba79dad597b47429dba"
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          }
        ],
        "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "vulnStatus": "Received"
      }
    },
    "suse_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-09-22T16:28:50Z",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-90398",
      "id": "CVE-2026-90398",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-09-18T00:16:55Z",
      "product_status:known_affected": "138",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "209",
      "source": "SUSE CSAF VEX",
      "status": "interim",
      "title": "SUSE CVE CVE-2026-90398",
      "url": "https://ftp.suse.com/pub/projects/security/csaf-vex/cve-2026-90398.json",
      "version": "4"
    }
  }
}



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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

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  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
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  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.



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