CVE-2026-64574

Technical Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: mac80211: tear down new links on vif update error path

When ieee80211_vif_update_links() adds new links it allocates a link

container for each and calls ieee80211_link_init() (which registers the

per-link debugfs files with file->private_data pointing into the container)

and ieee80211_link_setup(). If the subsequent drv_change_vif_links() fails,

the error path restores the old pointers and jumps to 'free', which frees

the new containers but never removes their debugfs entries or stops the

links. The debugfs files survive with file->private_data dangling at the

freed container, so a later open()+read() (e.g. link-1/txpower)

dereferences freed memory in ieee80211_if_read_link(), a use-after-free.

The removal path already dismantles links correctly via

ieee80211_tear_down_links(), which removes each link's keys and debugfs

entries and calls ieee80211_link_stop(); the add path on the error branch

does not. Commit

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References