# CVE-2026-53113: wifi: ath11k: fix memory leaks in beacon template setup

> A memory leak in the ath11k Wi-Fi driver allows attackers to exhaust system memory, causing denial of service.

- **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:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-53113, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53113, GHSA-wf4x-cm6m-6wpw, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-53113, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53113

## What is CVE-2026-53113?

CVE-2026-53113 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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: ath11k: fix memory leaks in beacon template setup

The functions ath11k_mac_setup_bcn_tmpl_ema() and
ath11k_mac_setup_bcn_tmpl_mbssid() allocate memory for beacon templates
but fail to free it when parameter setup returns an error.

Since beacon templates must be released during normal execution, they
must also be released in the error handling paths to prevent memory
leaks.

Fix this by using unified exit paths with proper cleanup in the respective
error paths.

Compile tested only. Issue found using a prototype static analysis tool
and code review.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53113?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53113?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53113 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53113 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-2026-53113 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53113 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 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-2026-53113 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-2026-53113/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53113/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53113
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53113
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53113

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53113/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.