CVE-2026-53257 wifi: cfg80211: enforce HE/EHT cap/oper consistency
A missing consistency check in the Linux kernel Wi-Fi subsystem allows a remote attacker to cause a system crash via malformed 802.11ax/be frames.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-53257?
CVE-2026-53257 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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: cfg80211: enforce HE/EHT cap/oper consistency
Xiang Mei reports that mac80211 could crash if eht_cap is set but eht_oper isn't. Rather than fixing that for the individual user(s), enforce that both HE/EHT have consistent elements.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53257?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-53257?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-53257 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53257 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-53257, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53257, GHSA-gff8-2g4x-324x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53257.