CVE-2026-74650 staging: rtl8723bs: fix OOB read in WMM_param_handler()
A remote attacker can trigger an out-of-bounds read in the rtl8723bs Wi-Fi driver by sending a malformed association response, potentially leaking kernel memory.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-74650?
CVE-2026-74650 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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:
staging: rtl8723bs: fix OOB read in WMM_param_handler()
WMM_param_handler() copies a fixed-size WMM parameter element out of a received information element without checking that the element is long enough, causing an out-of-bounds read for a short WMM IE.
The handler reads sizeof(struct WMM_para_element) (18) bytes at pIE->data + 6, so it requires pIE->length to be at least 24 (WLAN_WMM_LEN), but it never validates the length. Two of its three callers reach it after matching only the WMM OUI: OnAssocRsp() in rtw_mlme_ext.c matches a 6-byte OUI, and join_cmd_hdl() matches a 4-byte OUI, before calling the handler. A vendor-specific IE carrying the WMM OUI but a length between 6 and 23, placed in an association response or in the IE blob handed to join_cmd_hdl(), passes the OUI check and then makes the memcmp() and memcpy() at pIE->data + 6 read past the end of the element. OnAssocRsp() parses a frame received from the AP, so this is reachable from a remote peer.
The remaining caller in rtw_wlan_util.c already guards the handler with "pIE->length == WLAN_WMM_LEN". Move the equivalent check into the handler itself so every caller is covered; the sibling IE handlers in the same parsing loop (HT_caps_handler(), HT_info_handler(), ERP_IE_handler()) likewise bound their accesses by pIE->length.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74650?
How do I fix CVE-2026-74650?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-74650 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74650 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-74650, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74650, GHSA-96vf-829x-rg43, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74650.