Look up another CVE · open CVE-2026-72005 in the interactive tracker
CVE-2026-72005
wifi: rt2x00: avoid full teardown before work setup in probe
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/net. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-72005 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixed | 6.1.180-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.1.180-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.100-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.100-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
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.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
drivers/net/wireless/ralink/rt2x00/rt2x00dev.c
- What this is
- RALINK RT2X00 WIRELESS LAN DRIVERMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/net/wireless/ralink/ · linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- rt2x00lib
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_RT2X00|CONFIG_RT2X00_LIB|CONFIG_WLAN|CONFIG_WLAN_VENDOR_RALINK' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w rt2x00libPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.
- bookwormMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64
- trixie, forky, sidMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, s390x/s390x
- M
- a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_RT2X00, CONFIG_RT2X00_LIB, CONFIG_WLAN, CONFIG_WLAN_VENDOR_RALINK
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.16%, higher than 5.3% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/net
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 2.6.39 | 5.10.261 | 8b58d1f1356d |
| 2.6.39 | 5.15.212 | 59afe6148927 |
| 2.6.39 | 6.1.178 | 3c0427d719bd |
| 2.6.39 | 6.6.145 | eb7474d0253b |
| 2.6.39 | 6.12.97 | 66bd9b1a72de |
| 2.6.39 | 6.18.40 | 816559409e34 |
| 2.6.39 | 7.1.5 | 56994852d704 |
| 2.6.39 | 7.2 | 536fb3d739d7 |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- The flaw is in rt2x00 driver probe (rt2x00usb_probe/rt2x00pci_probe/rt2800soc_probe), triggered during device initialization on boot or hotplug, not by remote WiFi frames; worst case is built-in SoC/PCI WiFi on internet-facing routers/APs under local memory pressure.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- An attacker can reliably force kzalloc or alloc_ordered_workqueue() to fail with a memory exhaustion attack and retry on reboot or USB reinsertion; success does not depend on uncontrollable layout or victim-only timing beyond attacker-driven ENOMEM.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- Triggering probe-time ENOMEM requires only an unprivileged local process to exhaust memory during driver initialization; no CAP_NET_ADMIN, real root, or user-namespace capability is needed to reach the vulnerable teardown path.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Exploitation does not require a victim to click, mount, or configure anything; probe runs automatically at boot or on device hotplug while the attacker maintains memory pressure.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is confined to kernel/driver state on the host being probed; it is not a VM escape, sandbox breakout, or cross-authority boundary crossing beyond standard local kernel compromise.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- rt2x00lib_remove_dev() calls cancel_work_sync/cancel_delayed_work_sync and hrtimer_cancel on objects never initialized by INIT_WORK/hrtimer_setup, corrupting workqueue/timer metadata and creating undefined behavior that can expose kernel memory.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Invalid cancel/flush/drain of uninitialized work items and tasklet_kill on uninitialized tasklets can corrupt adjacent kernel heap objects and workqueue state, plausibly yielding write primitives beyond a simple denial of service.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- A QEMU PoC forcing alloc_ordered_workqueue() failure hit DEBUG_OBJECTS invalid work drains in rt2x00lib_remove_dev(); this teardown path can WARN/OOPS/panic the kernel during probe failure cleanup.