Vulnerability in Linux
CVE-2026-23444
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: always free skb on ieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() failure ieee80211_tx_prepare_skb() has three error paths, but only two of them free the skb. The first error path (ieee80211_tx_prepare() returning TX_DROP) does not free it, while invoke_tx_handlers() failure and the fragmentation check both do. Add kfree_skb() to the first error path so all three are consistent, and remove the now-redundant frees in callers (ath9k, mt76, mac80211_hwsim) to avoid double-free. Document the skb ownership guarantee in the function's kdoc.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.001 (2.1th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 2.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Linux — versions 6.6.136, 6.12.84, 5.15.209
- Linux Kernel — versions 3.13, 7.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-23444?
- CVE-2026-23444 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2026-04-03.
- How severe is CVE-2026-23444?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.