CVE-2026-98936
wifi: ath11k: reset ar->num_stations on hardware start
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath11k: reset ar->num_stations on hardware start When (multiple) hw restart occurs, we end up in a situation where we cannot accept new stations / mesh peers. This seems to be the 'num_stations' in 'struct ath11k' that did not get reset properly in this case. In ath11k_mac_op_start(), it was indeed the only accounting var that did not get reset so let's clear it too. This avoids problems like those: [1248828.088023] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 12281 at net/mac80211/util.c:1682 ieee80211_reconfig_stations+0x98/0xc0 [1248828.088115] Call trace: [1248828.088116] ieee80211_reconfig_stations+0x98/0xc0 (P) [1248828.088119] ieee80211_reconfig+0x774/0x1438 [1248828.088123] ieee80211_restart_work+0x10c/0x178 [1248828.088127] process_one_work+0x178/0x3c0 [1248828.088130] worker_thread+0x280/0x440 [1248828.088133] kthread+0xe0/0xf8 [1248828.088137] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 [1248828.088141] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- [1248836.686604] ath11k_pci 0000:04:00.0: refusing to associate station: too many connected already (128) [1248836.686609] ath11k_pci 0000:04:00.0: Failed to add station: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx for VDEV: 1 Tested-on: QCN9074 hw1.0 PCI WLAN.HK.2.9.0.1-01977-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1
Affected products and packages
CNA (CVE.org)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | affected: d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d … < 60142eb2afda34508e640a3ff2a54c90e51525cc affected: d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d … < c3ac51701e925e8d50479ae2fddca51a09f636e8 affected: d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d … < 9a9467f7cc633b31e4c34a2c56aa095e0c3fa853 affected: d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d … < c27779d3679c695674747744390f97a5424a0dc8 affected: d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d … < 7e0ad05ebc72fffba2bdf2400400902d94ed7272 default: unaffected |
| Linux | Linux | affected: 5.6 unaffected: 0 … < 5.6 unaffected: 6.6.160 … <= 6.6.* unaffected: 6.12.113 … <= 6.12.* unaffected: 6.18.56 … <= 6.18.* unaffected: 7.2.10 … <= 7.2.* unaffected: 7.3 … <= * default: affected |
Open-source packages (GitHub Advisory / OSV)
wifi: ath11k: reset ar->num_stations on hardware start
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| >= d5c65159f2895379e11ca13f62feabe93278985d, < 60142eb2afda34508e640a3ff2a54c90e51525cc; < c3ac51701e925e8d50479ae2fddca51a09f636e8; < 9a9467f7cc633b31e4c34a2c56aa095e0c3fa853; < c27779d3679c695674747744390f97a5424a0dc8; < 7e0ad05ebc72fffba2bdf2400400902d94ed7272 | 60142eb2afda34508e640a3ff2a54c90e51525cc, c3ac51701e925e8d50479ae2fddca51a09f636e8, 9a9467f7cc633b31e4c34a2c56aa095e0c3fa853, c27779d3679c695674747744390f97a5424a0dc8, 7e0ad05ebc72fffba2bdf2400400902d94ed7272 | ||
| Linux | Kernel | >= 5.6.0, < 6.6.160; >= 6.7.0, < 6.12.113; >= 6.13.0, < 6.18.56; >= 6.19.0, < 7.2.10 | 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10 |
Linux distribution status
References (8)
- https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git OSV
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/60142eb2afda34508e640a3ff2a54c90e51525cc NVD, CNA, OSV
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e0ad05ebc72fffba2bdf2400400902d94ed7272 NVD, CNA, OSV
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a9467f7cc633b31e4c34a2c56aa095e0c3fa853 NVD, CNA, OSV
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c27779d3679c695674747744390f97a5424a0dc8 NVD, CNA, OSV
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3ac51701e925e8d50479ae2fddca51a09f636e8 NVD, CNA, OSV
- https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98936.json OSV
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98936 OSV