# CVE-2026-68470: wifi: mac80211: validate extension-frame layout before RX

> A missing validation in the Linux kernel Wi-Fi subsystem allows attackers to cause a denial of service via malformed extension frames.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-96165, BELL-CVE-2026-68470, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68470, GHSA-f8c2-f7rp-8wp5, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68470

## What is CVE-2026-68470?

CVE-2026-68470 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 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: mac80211: validate extension-frame layout before RX

Extension frames only have the extension header at the regular 802.11
header offset. The generic RX path can still reach helpers and interface
dispatch code that read regular header address fields before unsupported
extension subtypes are dropped.

mac80211 currently only handles S1G beacon extension frames. Drop other
extension subtypes before they can reach regular-header RX processing.
For S1G beacons, linearize the SKB with the management-frame path and
require the fixed S1G beacon header, including optional fixed fields
indicated by frame control, before generic RX dispatch.

Route S1G beacons through the station/default-link RX path without
regular-header station lookup. Avoid regular-header address reads in the
mac80211 RX paths that process S1G extension beacons, including
accept-frame, duplicate-detection, address-copy, and MLO
address-translation paths.

Also make ieee80211_get_bssid() length-safe before returning the S1G
source-address pointer.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68470?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68470?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68470 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68470 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68470 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68470 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 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-2026-68470 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-2026-68470/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68470/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68470
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68470
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68470

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68470/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.