# CVE-2026-68197: wifi: mwifiex: fix NULL dereference when the AP has HT-cap but no HT-oper

> A NULL pointer dereference in the mwifiex Wi-Fi driver allows a nearby attacker to crash the Linux kernel by connecting to a specific malformed AP.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-68197, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68197, GHSA-fw9r-2mhq-c5mq, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68197

## What is CVE-2026-68197?

CVE-2026-68197 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 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: mwifiex: fix NULL dereference when the AP has HT-cap but no HT-oper

mwifiex_tdls_add_ht_oper() gates its follow-the-AP-bandwidth path on
bss_desc->bcn_ht_cap being present, but then dereferences a different
pointer, bss_desc->bcn_ht_oper:

	if (ISSUPP_CHANWIDTH40(priv->adapter->hw_dot_11n_dev_cap) &&
	    bss_desc->bcn_ht_cap &&
	    ISALLOWED_CHANWIDTH40(bss_desc->bcn_ht_oper->ht_param))

bcn_ht_cap and bcn_ht_oper are populated independently while parsing the
associated AP's beacon in mwifiex_update_bss_desc_with_ie(): an AP that
advertises an HT Capabilities element but no HT Operation element leaves
bcn_ht_cap non-NULL and bcn_ht_oper NULL. Setting up a TDLS link to a
peer while associated to such an AP then dereferences the NULL
bcn_ht_oper and crashes the kernel. Every other bcn_ht_oper user in the
driver NULL-checks it first.

Guard on the pointer that is actually dereferenced.

Found by 0sec automated security-research tooling (https://0sec.ai).

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68197?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68197?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68197 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68197 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68197 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 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-2026-68197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-68197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68197/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68197
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68197
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68197

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68197/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.