CVE-2026-97492: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: don't call ieee80211_handle_reconfig

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: don't call ieee80211_handle_reconfig_failure when not needed In case recon

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: don't call ieee80211_handle_reconfig_failure when not needed In case reconfiguration of NAN fails, we call ieee80211_handle_reconfig_failure, that marks all interfaces as not in the driver. Then, at the error path of the reconfig, cfg80211_shutdown_all_interfaces is called to destroy all the interfaces. If we have any other interface but the NAN one, for example a BSS station, then when its state (links, stations) will be removed, we won't tell the driver about this, because we will think that the interfaces are not in the driver, and then drivers might remain with dangling pointers to objects like stations and links (at least for iwlwifi this is the case). ieee80211_handle_reconfig_failure is meant to be called after we cleaned up the state in the driver, there is no reason to call it for NAN reconfiguration failure. Fix the code to just warn in such a case, as we do in other error paths in reconfig where it is too complicated to rewind.

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 0.17%, higher than 6% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

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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.

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