# CVE-2026-23073: wifi: rsi: Fix memory corruption due to not set vif driver data size

> A memory corruption flaw in the Linux kernel RSI WiFi driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash by bringing a wireless interface up and down.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-77109, BELL-CVE-2026-23073, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23073, GHSA-cw47-5xmh-qvq4, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23073, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23073, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23073

## What is CVE-2026-23073?

CVE-2026-23073 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

wifi: rsi: Fix memory corruption due to not set vif driver data size

The struct ieee80211_vif contains trailing space for vif driver data,
when struct ieee80211_vif is allocated, the total memory size that is
allocated is sizeof(struct ieee80211_vif) + size of vif driver data.
The size of vif driver data is set by each WiFi driver as needed.

The RSI911x driver does not set vif driver data size, no trailing space
for vif driver data is therefore allocated past struct ieee80211_vif .
The RSI911x driver does however use the vif driver data to store its
vif driver data structure "struct vif_priv". An access to vif->drv_priv
leads to access out of struct ieee80211_vif bounds and corruption of
some memory.

In case of the failure observed locally, rsi_mac80211_add_interface()
would write struct vif_priv *vif_info = (struct vif_priv *)vif->drv_priv;
vif_info->vap_id = vap_idx. This write corrupts struct fq_tin member
struct list_head new_flows . The flow = list_first_entry(head, struct
fq_flow, flowchain); in fq_tin_reset() then reports non-NULL bogus
address, which when accessed causes a crash.

The trigger is very simple, boot the machine with init=/bin/sh , mount
devtmpfs, sysfs, procfs, and then do "ip link set wlan0 up", "sleep 1",
"ip link set wlan0 down" and the crash occurs.

Fix this by setting the correct size of vif driver data, which is the
size of "struct vif_priv", so that memory is allocated and the driver
can store its driver data in it, instead of corrupting memory around
it.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23073?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23073?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23073 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23073 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23073 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23073 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23073 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23073/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23073/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23073
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23073
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23073

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23073/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.