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CVE-2026-74408
wifi: ath9k: fix OOB access from firmware tx status queue ID
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-2026-74408 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
ath_tx_edma_tasklet() accesses sc->tx.txq[ts.qid] where ts.qid is a 4-bit hardware field (0-15), but the txq array only has ATH9K_NUM_TX_QUEUES (10) entries. A qid >= 10 causes an OOB array access. Add a bounds check on ts.qid before using it as an array index.
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/ath/ath9k/xmit.c
- What this is
- QUALCOMM ATHEROS ATH9K WIRELESS DRIVERMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ · linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- ath9k
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_ATH9K|CONFIG_ATH9K_HW|CONFIG_WLAN|CONFIG_WLAN_VENDOR_ATH' /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 ath9kPrints 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_ATH9K, CONFIG_ATH9K_HW, CONFIG_WLAN, CONFIG_WLAN_VENDOR_ATH
- 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
- 8.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- adjacent network (AV:A)source
- EPSS
- 0.41%, higher than 34.0% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 5.10.261 | fb11083db9d7 |
| 3.1 | 5.15.212 | 734db72d55ca |
| 3.1 | 6.1.178 | f5931d06b45e |
| 3.1 | 6.6.145 | 46ca1451f61b |
| 3.1 | 6.12.97 | a9e055ac62cb |
| 3.1 | 6.18.40 | 5435fd3edcb1 |
| 3.1 | 7.1.5 | 336d4c8cd9b1 |
| 3.1 | 7.2 | 7ce2f118a238 |
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:AAttack vector, adjacent network
- Exploitation requires sending 802.11 frames over WiFi to a victim using an EDMA-capable ath9k device (routers, embedded APs, laptops); TX completion interrupts from that traffic reach ath_tx_edma_tasklet() via ath_isr/ath9k_interrupt.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- An adjacent attacker can repeatedly induce TX completions and error/status conditions with crafted or high-volume 802.11 traffic; they control timing and load on both sides of the race, making invalid firmware qid values (10-15) reachable without conditions outside attacker influence.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- No local account or kernel privileges are required; unauthenticated adjacent WiFi frames (probes, data, deauth/flood) cause the victim radio to transmit and process firmware TX status reports on the interrupt path.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- No victim interaction is needed beyond the device having WiFi active, which is the normal operating state for routers, phones, and IoT APs using ath9k hardware.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is confined to kernel memory corruption and privilege escalation or denial of service on the affected host; it does not cross VM, container, or IOMMU security boundaries.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Out-of-bounds indexing of sc->tx.txq[ts.qid] reads adjacent ath_softc/ath_tx fields as struct ath_txq (spinlocks, list heads, DMA metadata), constituting an unbounded OOB kernel memory read exploitable for information disclosure.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The OOB txq pointer is dereferenced for spin_lock_bh, list_head manipulation, and ath_tx_process_buffer(), writing through misaligned kernel structures and enabling heap corruption and potential arbitrary code execution.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Locking and list operations on memory interpreted as the wrong ath_txq can cause kernel oops, panic, or hang, and repeated adjacent triggering can sustain denial of service on the wireless host.