CVE-2026-98703

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: minstrel_ht: validate fixed rate index The fixed_rate_idx debugfs file is a plain u32 attribute, so any value can be written to it. minstrel_ht_update_stats() then copies the value into mi->max_tp_rate[] and mi->max_prob_rate, and minstrel_ht_set_rate() uses MI_RATE_GROUP()/MI_RATE_IDX() to index minstrel_mcs_groups[] (42 entries) and mi->groups[].rates[] (10 entries) with it. Writing e.g. 65535 selects group 4095 and rate index 15, far outside both arrays. The out-of-bounds entries are dereferenced and updated as struct minstrel_rate_stats (retry counts, etc.), so the invalid index corrupts adjacent kernel memory. With CONFIG_UBSAN_BOUNDS the access is reported as an array-index-out-of-bounds in minstrel_ht_set_rate(). Only a valid group/rate pair, or U32_MAX to disable fixed rate processing, can be used safely, so reject any other value when the debugfs file is written. The file is only reachable through a root-only debugfs mount, so this is not a privilege boundary. The out-of-bounds access is still a bug that must not be reachable through a writable debugfs attribute.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-10-18
Last modified 2026-10-18
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 3.1 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10, 7.3 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 3.1
Fixed in
✓ 6.12.113 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.56 6.18.x ✓ 7.2.10 7.2.x ✓ 7.3

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-98703?

    CVE-2026-98703 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.1 onward and has been patched in 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10 and others. CVE-2026-98703 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98703?

    Yes. CVE-2026-98703 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 3.1 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-98703 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-98703 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.