---
id: CVE-2026-23281
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  wifi: libertas: fix use-after-free in lbs_free_adapter()

  The lbs_free_adapter() function uses timer_delete() (non-synchronous)
  for both command_timer and tx_lockup_tim…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  wifi: libertas: fix use-after-free in lbs_free_adapter()

  The lbs_free_adapter() function uses timer_delete() (non-synchronous)
  for both command_timer and tx_lockup_tim…
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-416
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - 'linux_kernel >= 2.6.24, < 5.10.253'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.203'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.167'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.130'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.78'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.17'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.7'
  - linux_kernel = 7.0
patched:
  - linux_kernel 6.19.7
published: '2026-03-25'
updated: '2026-10-15'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-15T02:18:46.773'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23281'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03cc8f90d0537fcd4985c3319b4fafbf2e3fb1f0'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/09f3c30ab3b1371eaf9676a1b8add57bca763083'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c5c818c78b03a1725f3dcd566865c77b48dd3a6'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f9dec4a6d95d7f1f5e9e9dfdfa173c053bba8dc'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a9f55b14486426d907459bced5825a25063bd922'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b15e0fa7adb4de3a03aee9e6fc4d83e5cf0a65e4'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0155fe68f31b339961cf2d4f92937d57e9384e6'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed7d30f90b77f73a47498686ede83f622b7e4f0d'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-784472.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00126
epssPercentile: 0.02028
ingestedAt: '2026-10-15T03:30:12.839Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: libertas: fix use-after-free in lbs_free_adapter()

The lbs_free_adapter() function uses timer_delete() (non-synchronous)
for both command_timer and tx_lockup_timer before the structure is
freed. This is incorrect because timer_delete() does not wait for
any running timer callback to complete.

If a timer callback is executing when lbs_free_adapter() is called,
the callback will access freed memory since lbs_cfg_free() frees the
containing structure immediately after lbs_free_adapter() returns.

Both timer callbacks (lbs_cmd_timeout_handler and lbs_tx_lockup_handler)
access priv->driver_lock, priv->cur_cmd, priv->dev, and other fields,
which would all be use-after-free violations.

Use timer_delete_sync() instead to ensure any running timer callback
has completed before returning.

This bug was introduced in commit 8f641d93c38a ("libertas: detect TX
lockups and reset hardware") where del_timer() was used instead of
del_timer_sync() in the cleanup path. The command_timer has had the
same issue since the driver was first written.

## Affected

- `linux_kernel >= 2.6.24, < 5.10.253`
- `linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.203`
- `linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.167`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.130`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.78`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.17`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.7`
- `linux_kernel = 7.0`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 6.19.7`