# CVE-2026-64446: staging: rtl8723bs: fix heap buffer overflow in rtw_cfg80211_set_wpa_ie()

> A heap buffer overflow in the rtl8723bs Wi-Fi driver allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges via crafted WPA IEs.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 25 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-64446, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64446, GHSA-49pq-8ggv-fqjq, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-64446, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64446

## What is CVE-2026-64446?

CVE-2026-64446 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jul 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:

staging: rtl8723bs: fix heap buffer overflow in rtw_cfg80211_set_wpa_ie()

supplicant_ie is a 256-byte array in struct security_priv. The WPA and
WPA2 IE copy paths use:

    memcpy(padapter->securitypriv.supplicant_ie, &pwpa[0], wpa_ielen + 2);

where wpa_ielen is the raw IE length field (u8, 0-255). When a local user
supplies a connect request via nl80211 with a crafted WPA IE of length 255,
wpa_ielen + 2 equals 257, overflowing the 256-byte buffer by one byte into
the adjacent last_mic_err_time field.

rtw_parse_wpa_ie() does not prevent this: its length consistency check
compares *(wpa_ie+1) against (u8)(wpa_ie_len-2), which is (u8)(255) == 255
when wpa_ie_len = 257, so the check passes silently.

Add explicit bounds checks for both the WPA and WPA2 paths before the
memcpy, rejecting any IE whose total size (wpa_ielen + 2) exceeds the
supplicant_ie buffer.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64446?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-64446?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-64446 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64446 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-2026-64446 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-64446 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jul 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-2026-64446 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-2026-64446/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64446/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64446
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64446
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-64446

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64446/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.