CVE-2026-43052 wifi: mac80211: check tdls flag in ieee80211_tdls_oper

What is CVE-2026-43052?

CVE-2026-43052 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 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: check tdls flag in ieee80211_tdls_oper

When NL80211_TDLS_ENABLE_LINK is called, the code only checks if the station exists but not whether it is actually a TDLS station. This allows the operation to proceed for non-TDLS stations, causing unintended side effects like modifying channel context and HT protection before failing.

Add a check for sta->sta.tdls early in the ENABLE_LINK case, before any side effects occur, to ensure the operation is only allowed for actual TDLS peers.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43052?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-43052?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, and check permissions on every request on the server, not only in the interface. More about Missing authorization.

Is CVE-2026-43052 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43052 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as AZL-85383, BELL-CVE-2026-43052, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43052, GHSA-j5xm-hgh6-vq4q, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43052, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-43052 and 3 more.