---
id: CVE-2026-23444
title: |-
  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
summary: |-
  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 er…
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-401
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - 'linux_kernel >= 3.13.1, < 6.18.20'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.10'
  - linux_kernel = 3.13
  - linux_kernel = 7.0
patched:
  - linux_kernel 6.19.10
published: '2026-04-03'
updated: '2026-10-15'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-15T02:18:57.160'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23444'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/06e769dddcbeb3baf2ce346273b53dd61fdbecf4'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b4d27acafaeab478fd24f79ad6e593a892828b9'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50f1b690b4868923fbd242298def2fb88662f108'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5ef8ca1c164786da24169af155c1ca1ff1353cf8'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/905ef207d5ed99ca64adfe39fba9ac46e434327a'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a779d1f480e83720b5384adf165604e7ee226bd'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5ad6ab61cbd89afdb60881f6274f74328af3ee9'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f77b51bcee7be2bb686b5f7a2d4a1921e4bdb9f4'
    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: 0.00129
epssPercentile: 0.02258
ingestedAt: '2026-10-15T03:30:12.849Z'
---

## Overview

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.

## Affected

- `linux_kernel >= 3.13.1, < 6.18.20`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.10`
- `linux_kernel = 3.13`
- `linux_kernel = 7.0`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 6.19.10`