CVE-2026-98824 Linux CVE debrief

Who should care

Linux system administrators, security teams, and developers responsible for maintaining or customizing Linux kernels should assess exposure and apply patches as necessary. These stakeholders should review the supplied official advisory or CVE record to validate affected scope, severity, and vendor guidance. They should also inventory Linux systems for versions a5f69d94d8e239b48299abdd836840b7447866ab and earlier, and verify validation of TX status rate in

Why it matters

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's wifi: mac80211 has been addressed, which could potentially allow for out-of-bounds indexing of rate tables due to insufficient validation of TX status rate metadata. Linux system administrators and security teams should assess exposure and apply patches as necessary.

• Verify Linux kernel versions and apply patches to prevent potential out-of-bounds indexing.
• Inventory systems for affected versions to prioritize patching.
• Review custom or third-party kernels for validation of TX status rate metadata.

Technical summary

The Linux kernel's wifi: mac80211 did not properly validate TX status rate metadata, potentially allowing out-of-bounds indexing of minstrel_ht rate tables. This has been addressed with additional validation in the common TX status path, ensuring that rate metadata is properly sanitized before being used. The changes prevent malformed metadata from being used as an out-of-bounds index, improving the security of the wifi: mac80211 functionality in the Linux kernel. The fixes are available in later commits, and users are advised to review and apply patches for affected Linux kernel versions.

Defensive priority

Assess exposure and apply patches for Linux kernel versions identified as affected.

Recommended defensive actions

• Review and apply patches for affected Linux kernel versions.
• Inventory Linux systems for versions a5f69d94d8e239b48299abdd836840b7447866ab and earlier.
• Verify validation of TX status rate metadata in wifi: mac80211 for custom or third-party kernels.
• Confirm whether affected product deployments exist in managed environments and assign an owner for follow-up.
• Review the supplied official advisory or CVE record to validate affected scope, severity, and vendor guidance.
• Plan vendor-supported updates or mitigations through normal change control where exposure is confirmed.
• Check relevant monitoring, detection, and logs for exposed assets that need extra review.

Evidence notes

The CVE record and source item provide details on the vulnerability and affected versions. Linux kernel versions a5f69d94d8e239b48299abdd836840b7447866ab and earlier are affected, with fixes available in later commits.

Sources and references

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.