CVE-2026-72005

Received Received - Intake

Memory Corruption in Linux Kernel WiFi Subsystem

Publication date: 2026-08-15

Last updated on: 2026-08-17

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rt2x00: avoid full teardown before work setup in probe 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.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-15

Last Modified

2026-08-17

Generated

2026-09-04

AI Q&A

2026-08-15

EPSS Evaluated

2026-09-03

NVD

CVE-2026-72005

EUVD

EUVD-2026-59104

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux_kernel	linux_kernel	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves improper handling during the probe process of rt2x00 wireless devices. When device probing fails due to allocation issues, the code incorrectly triggers a full teardown that assumes work items have been initialized. This leads to invalid work object states and potential system instability.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's rt2x00 driver and may not have direct network detection methods. Check kernel logs for errors related to rt2x00lib_probe_dev or workqueue failures using dmesg | grep rt2x00 or journalctl -k | grep rt2x00.

Impact Analysis

This could cause system crashes or instability when wireless devices using the rt2x00 driver fail to initialize properly. It may result in kernel warnings about invalid work objects or unexpected behavior during device probing.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, or similar standards. It is a Linux kernel driver issue related to probe failure handling in the rt2x00 wireless driver, which could lead to system instability or crashes but does not involve data exposure or privacy violations.

Mitigation Strategies

Update your Linux kernel to the latest stable version where this issue is patched. Monitor kernel logs for rt2x00-related errors and avoid using affected driver versions until patched.

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