CVE-2026-98710
Received Received - Intake

Memory Leak in Linux Kernel WiFi Driver

Publication date: 2026-10-18

Last updated on: 2026-10-18

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlegacy: 3945: free EEPROM data on remove il3945_pci_probe() calls il_eeprom_init(), which allocates memory for the EEPROM data. The probe failure paths release this allocation with il_eeprom_free(), but the remove path does not free it after a successful probe. As a result, the EEPROM data is leaked when the PCI device is removed. Free the EEPROM data in il3945_pci_remove() before releasing the mac80211 hardware structure. This issue was found by manual code inspection.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-10-18
Last Modified
2026-10-18
Generated
2026-10-18
AI Q&A
2026-10-18
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-98710
EUVD
EUVD-2026-103964

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 5 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
Linux Linux 073d3f5f1b3b6512eb82a3d40c84dedb14dc6f73
Linux Linux 073d3f5f1b3b6512eb82a3d40c84dedb14dc6f73
Linux Linux 073d3f5f1b3b6512eb82a3d40c84dedb14dc6f73
Linux Linux 073d3f5f1b3b6512eb82a3d40c84dedb14dc6f73
Linux Linux 2.6.27

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Exploitability

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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a memory leak in the Linux kernel's iwlegacy driver for the Intel 3945 Wi-Fi chipset. When the PCI device is removed, the EEPROM data allocated during device initialization is not freed, causing a memory leak.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is specific to the Linux kernel's iwlegacy driver for the Intel 3945 WiFi chipset. Detection involves checking if the affected driver is loaded and if memory leaks occur during device removal. Use commands like 'lsmod | grep iwl3945' to verify driver presence and 'dmesg | grep iwl3945' to check for related errors or leaks.

Impact Analysis

The impact is primarily on system resources. Over time, repeated device removal and insertion could lead to gradual memory exhaustion, potentially causing system instability or crashes due to insufficient available memory.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest Linux kernel updates to patch this issue. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling the iwl3945 driver by blacklisting it in your system's module configuration. Reboot the system after making changes.

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