# CVE-2026-23246: wifi: mac80211: bounds-check link_id in ieee80211_ml_reconfiguration

> An out-of-bounds write in the Linux kernel Wi-Fi subsystem allows attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges via crafted ML Reconfiguration elements.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-79995, BELL-CVE-2026-23246, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23246, GHSA-g43x-jrqr-j62r, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23246, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23246, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23246

## What is CVE-2026-23246?

CVE-2026-23246 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Mar 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: mac80211: bounds-check link_id in ieee80211_ml_reconfiguration

link_id is taken from the ML Reconfiguration element (control & 0x000f),
so it can be 0..15. link_removal_timeout[] has IEEE80211_MLD_MAX_NUM_LINKS
(15) elements, so index 15 is out-of-bounds. Skip subelements with
link_id >= IEEE80211_MLD_MAX_NUM_LINKS to avoid a stack out-of-bounds
write.

Weakness: CWE-129 (Improper Validation of Array Index)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23246?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23246?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23246 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23246 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-2026-23246 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23246 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Mar 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-2026-23246 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-2026-23246/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23246/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23246
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23246
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23246

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23246/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.