CVE-2026-64175wifi: iwlwifi: mld: stop TX during firmware restart
Updated under an hour ago ()
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No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.
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In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: mld: stop TX during firmware restart When iwlwifi firmware crashes (e.g., NMI_INTERRUPT_UNKNOWN on Intel BE201/Wi-Fi 7), iwl_mld_nic_error() sets mld->fw_status.in_hw_restart to true. However, iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() does not check this flag before dequeuing frames from mac80211 and pushing them to the transport layer. Since the firmware is dead, iwl_trans_tx() returns -EIO for each frame, which then gets freed immediately. Under high-throughput conditions (e.g., Tailscale UDP traffic or active SSH sessions), this creates a tight dequeue-send-fail-free loop that wastes CPU cycles and generates rapid skb allocation churn, leading to memory pressure from slab fragmentation. The RX path already has this guard (iwl_mld_rx_mpdu checks in_hw_restart at rx.c:1906), and so does the TXQ allocation worker (iwl_mld_add_txqs_wk at tx.c:156). Add the same guard to iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() to stop all TX during firmware restart. Frames left in mac80211's TXQs are naturally drained after restart completes, when queue reallocation triggers iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() via iwl_mld_add_txq_list(), or when new upper-layer traffic invokes wake_tx_queue. Tested on ASUS Zenbook 14 UX3405CA with Intel BE201 (Wi-Fi 7) on kernel 6.19.5 where the firmware crashes approximately every 10-15 minutes under Tailscale traffic.
- CVSS
- 7.5 HIGH (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Weakness (CWE)
- Not given
- Known exploited
- Not in CISA's KEV catalog
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- Not loaded for this CVE
- Assigned by
- Linux
- NVD analysis
- Analyzed
- Record last updated
- Oct 16, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 9, 2026
Affected products
Linux Linux linux:linux (from the name) | from d1e879ec600f9b3bdd253167533959facfefb17b before dc31c69476520bb4c2a208211a8d3c310a62c4d0; from d1e879ec600f9b3bdd253167533959facfefb17b before 13f1786395dbbf3df73337063c798f1266be6151; from d1e879ec600f9b3bdd253167533959facfefb17b before 2becb38a3e217ef2b2f42fddd7db7a25905ec291 | CNA record |
linux linux_kernel linux:linux_kernel | from 6.15 before 6.18.34; from 6.19 before 7.0.11; 7.1; 7.1; 7.1; 7.1 | NVD |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dc31c69476520bb4c2a208211a8d3c310a62c4d0patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/13f1786395dbbf3df73337063c798f1266be6151patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2becb38a3e217ef2b2f42fddd7db7a25905ec291patch
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.