# CVE-2026-46248: wifi: ath12k: clear stale link mapping of ahvif->links_map

> A stale link mapping in the ath12k WiFi driver causes a kernel warning and potential denial of service when MLO connection preparation fails.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:** 3 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 3 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-46248, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46248, GHSA-ccjm-3xx6-g84m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46248

## What is CVE-2026-46248?

CVE-2026-46248 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Jun 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: ath12k: clear stale link mapping of ahvif->links_map

When an arvif is initialized in non-AP STA mode but MLO connection
preparation fails before the arvif is created
(arvif->is_created remains false), the error path attempts to delete all
links. However, link deletion only executes when arvif->is_created is true.
As a result, ahvif retains a stale entry of arvif that is initialized but
not created.

When a new arvif is initialized with the same link id, this stale mapping
triggers the following WARN_ON.

WARNING: drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/mac.c:4271 at ath12k_mac_op_change_vif_links+0x140/0x180 [ath12k], CPU#3: wpa_supplicant/275

Call trace:
 ath12k_mac_op_change_vif_links+0x140/0x180 [ath12k] (P)
 drv_change_vif_links+0xbc/0x1a4 [mac80211]
 ieee80211_vif_update_links+0x54c/0x6a0 [mac80211]
 ieee80211_vif_set_links+0x40/0x70 [mac80211]
 ieee80211_prep_connection+0x84/0x450 [mac80211]
 ieee80211_mgd_auth+0x200/0x480 [mac80211]
 ieee80211_auth+0x14/0x20 [mac80211]
 cfg80211_mlme_auth+0x90/0xf0 [cfg80211]
 nl80211_authenticate+0x32c/0x380 [cfg80211]
 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xc8/0x134

Fix this issue by unassigning the link vif and clearing ahvif->links_map
if arvif is only initialized but not created.

Tested-on: QCN9274 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.WBE.1.5-01651-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46248?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-46248?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-46248 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46248 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-2026-46248 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-46248 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Jun 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-2026-46248 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-2026-46248/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46248/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46248
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46248
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-46248

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46248/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.