# CVE-2026-74368: wifi: ath12k: fix memory leak in ath12k_wifi7_dp_rx_h_verify_tkip_mic()

> A memory leak in the ath12k Wi-Fi driver allows attackers to cause denial of service by triggering invalid header validation during TKIP MIC verification.

- **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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74368, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74368, GHSA-jx2p-wmx4-9hvq, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74368

## What is CVE-2026-74368?

CVE-2026-74368 is a memory corruption 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: ath12k: fix memory leak in ath12k_wifi7_dp_rx_h_verify_tkip_mic()

In ath12k_wifi7_dp_rx_h_verify_tkip_mic(), the call to
ath12k_dp_rx_check_nwifi_hdr_len_valid() may return false when the
NWIFI header length is invalid, causing the function to abort early with
-EINVAL.

When this happens, the error propagates to
ath12k_wifi7_dp_rx_h_defrag(), which clears first_frag by setting it
to NULL. As a result, the corresponding MSDU is no longer referenced
by the defragmentation path and is never freed.

This leads to a memory leak for the affected MSDU on this error path.
Proper cleanup is required to ensure the MSDU is released when header
validation fails during TKIP MIC verification.

Tested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.1.c5-00302-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-1.115823.3

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74368?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74368?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74368 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74368 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74368 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74368 is a memory corruption 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-2026-74368 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-2026-74368/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74368/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74368
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74368
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74368

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74368/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.