CVE-2026-93271: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath11k: cap out-of-range rx MCS instead of leaving bogus rate ath11k can receive HT/

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath11k: cap out-of-range rx MCS instead of leaving bogus rate ath11k can receive HT/

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath11k: cap out-of-range rx MCS instead of leaving bogus rate ath11k can receive HT/VHT/HE frames whose reported MCS is above the maximum that can be expressed in the corresponding mac80211 rate space (e.g. an HE frame reported with MCS 12, while HE tops out at MCS 11). The frame itself is valid and decodes correctly, but for such a frame ath11k_dp_rx_h_rate() leaves rx_status->rate_idx set to the out-of-range value and never assigns rx_status->encoding, so it stays RX_ENC_LEGACY from the ath11k_dp_rx_h_ppdu() initialization. Once that frame reaches mac80211 it trips the rate sanity check and the frame is dropped with a splat: ath11k_pci 0000:03:00.0: Received with invalid mcs in HE mode 12 WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 0 at net/mac80211/rx.c:5433 ieee80211_rx_list+0xb0a/0xe90 [mac80211] Dropping the frame would discard otherwise valid data, so instead cap the reported MCS to the maximum the rate space can express and deliver the frame. Set rx_status->encoding before the range check and assign rate_idx from the capped value, so a frame with an out-of-range MCS no longer leaves partial or bogus rate metadata b

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.20%, higher than 10% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

Weekly security brief

The flaws that hit local websites, every Friday.

One short email: what got exploited this week, which WordPress plugins broke, and what to check. Unsubscribe in one click.