CVE-2026-98331 (CVSS 7)

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: unlist vifs when their netdev is unregistered mac80211 only removes vifs from the local->interfaces list when an interface is removed via ieee80211_if_remove(), before it unregisters the netdev. However, it's possible for a netdev to be unregistered without going through that: When the netns that holds the wiphy is destroyed, the wiphy is supposed to move to the init_ns, but that can run into allocation failures. Then, mac80211 has an interface listed that doesn't exist, and will eventually hit BUG: failure at net/wireless/core.h:141/wiphy_to_rdev()! ... _cfg80211_unregister_wdev+0x24/0x36a [cfg80211] cfg80211_unregister_wdev+0x15/0x1d [cfg80211] ieee80211_remove_interfaces+0x1ff/0x257 [mac80211] ieee80211_unregister_hw+0x73/0x1d1 [mac80211] mac80211_hwsim_del_radio+0x114/0x166 [mac80211_hwsim] Remove the interface from the list in ->ndo_uninit if it's still around to avoid this.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.0

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0013

Probability of exploitation

0.03%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/20a56e96a6f7b4dfbd13f8732fd2673409fc7ba0 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/821bab0456dfca12acef6df702c8f2477d313227 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a22c02863439993095acd0c3db97fa53cd515f4f https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b735ad1a9aca6080192c1316cf2706e5e1318762 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d45bf731ec7085d2cc2c5d179d3b3b6c743d4fb1 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eee2efd82867b623982ac51925b5a1812a74c50d

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-98331? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: unlist vifs when their netdev is unregistered mac80211 only removes vifs from the local->interfaces list when an interface is removed via ieee80211_if_remove(), before it unregisters the netdev. However, it's possible for a netdev to be unregistered without going through that: When the netns that holds the wiphy is destroyed, the wiphy is supposed to move to the init_ns, but that can run into allocation failures. Then, mac80211 has an interface listed that doesn't exist, and will eventually hit BUG: failure at net/wireless/core.h:141/wiphy_to_rdev()! ... _cfg80211_unregister_wdev+0x24/0x36a [cfg80211] cfg80211_unregister_wdev+0x15/0x1d [cfg80211] ieee80211_remove_interfaces+0x1ff/0x257 [mac80211] ieee80211_unregister_hw+0x73/0x1d1 [mac80211] mac80211_hwsim_del_radio+0x114/0x166 [mac80211_hwsim] Remove the interface from the list in ->ndo_uninit if it's still around to avoid this. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.0 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-98331? +

CVE-2026-98331 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.0 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0013, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-98331? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

CVE-2026-98331