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

wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw()

If kmemdup() fails while copying supported band structures, the error
path jumps to fail_rate. This skips rate_control_deinitialize() and
leaks the initialized local->rate_ctrl.

Fix this by adding a fail_band label that shares the rate-control cleanup
path before falling through to the remaining teardown.

The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are
developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing
v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly
available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in
v7.1-rc7.

An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have a
suitable mac80211 device/driver combination to test with, no runtime
testing was able to be performed.
Published: 2026-08-15
Score: n/a
EPSS: < 1% Very Low
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
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Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

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History

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-401

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 06:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw() If kmemdup() fails while copying supported band structures, the error path jumps to fail_rate. This skips rate_control_deinitialize() and leaks the initialized local->rate_ctrl. Fix this by adding a fail_band label that shares the rate-control cleanup path before falling through to the remaining teardown. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1-rc7. An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have a suitable mac80211 device/driver combination to test with, no runtime testing was able to be performed.
Title wifi: mac80211: fix memory leak in ieee80211_register_hw()
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-08-15T05:51:35.363Z

Reserved: 2026-08-09T03:40:39.898Z

Link: CVE-2026-72004

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-08-15T06:20:58.987

Modified: 2026-08-15T06:20:58.987

Link: CVE-2026-72004

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-08-15T09:30:04Z

Weaknesses