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CVE-2026-74413
wifi: rtw89: fix wrong pci_get_drvdata type in AER handlers
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/net. Debian urgency: unimportant.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-74413 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 | not affected | 6.1.190-1 | Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 13trixie | not affected | 6.12.113-1 | Nothing to do. trixie never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| 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
rtw89 stores an ieee80211_hw pointer via pci_set_drvdata() at probe time, but io_error_detected() and io_resume() retrieve it as a net_device pointer. This causes netif_device_detach/attach to operate on an ieee80211_hw struct, reading and writing at wrong offsets. The adjacent io_slot_reset() already does it correctly. Use ieee80211_stop_queues/wake_queues instead, consistent with every other queue stop/start path in the driver. Tested on RTL8852CE by calling the handlers from a test module before and after the fix.
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/realtek/rtw89/pci.c
- What this is
- REALTEK WIRELESS DRIVER (rtw89)MAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/net/wireless/realtek/rtw89/ · linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- rtw89_pci
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_RTW89|CONFIG_RTW89_PCI|CONFIG_WLAN|CONFIG_WLAN_VENDOR_REALTEK' /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 rtw89_pciPrints 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
- trixieMnot built on amd64/cloud-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi, s390x/s390x
- 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_RTW89, CONFIG_RTW89_PCI, CONFIG_WLAN, CONFIG_WLAN_VENDOR_REALTEK
- 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
- 0.38%, higher than 29.9% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- unimportantsource
- 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 6.17 | 6.18.40 | aefc30e4a829 |
| 6.17 | 7.1.5 | c1907b9a4fa9 |
| 6.17 | 7.2 | 7068c379cf9a |
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
- The vulnerable rtw89 PCIe AER handlers run when the adapter reports non-fatal/fatal PCIe errors; on laptops with RTL8852CE/8852BE and similar in public wireless environments, an adjacent attacker can plausibly induce link faults via traffic stressing the radio-PCIe path.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- Once AER recovery invokes rtw89_pci_io_error_detected/resume, the type confusion deterministically treats ieee80211_hw as net_device and corrupts memory through netif_device_detach/attach; no race or layout guesswork beyond triggering PCIe recovery is needed.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- No local OS privileges or capabilities are required; an adjacent wireless attacker targeting a victim's rtw89 PCIe WiFi can enter the faulty AER recovery path without authenticating to or holding an account on the system.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- No victim action beyond normal use of the affected rtw89 WiFi interface is required; PCIe AER recovery and the corruption run automatically in kernel interrupt/workqueue context.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Type confusion corrupts kernel memory within the same kernel security authority; no VM, container, or IOMMU boundary is crossed.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Casting ieee80211_hw to net_device makes netif_device_detach/attach read state, flags, and queue metadata at wrong offsets, constituting type confusion that can disclose adjacent kernel memory per kernel CVSS guidance.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Atomic bit clears/sets and netif_tx_stop/wake queue operations run on ieee80211_hw memory misinterpreted as net_device fields, enabling out-of-bounds writes and exploitable memory corruption warranting High integrity impact.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Misinterpreting ieee80211_hw as net_device leads netif_tx_stop_all_queues and netdev_watchdog_up to dereference garbage queue pointers, causing kernel oops/panic during AER recovery with High availability impact.