# CVE-2026-74651: staging: rtl8723bs: fix OOB read in rtw_get_wpa_ie()

> An out-of-bounds read in the rtl8723bs Wi-Fi driver allows attackers to read memory beyond the intended buffer via crafted management frames.

- **Severity:** High 8.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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:** 22 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74651, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74651, GHSA-849j-9cq7-9mpx, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74651

## What is CVE-2026-74651?

CVE-2026-74651 is a high-severity 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 rtw_get_wpa_ie()

rtw_get_wpa_ie() reads bytes at fixed offsets into a vendor-specific
information element without checking that the element is long enough,
causing an out-of-bounds read for a short trailing IE.

The function locates a vendor-specific IE (EID 221) with rtw_get_ie()
and then compares a 4-byte OUI+type at pbuf + 2 and reads a 2-byte
version word at pbuf + 6. Those accesses require the IE body to be at
least 6 bytes, but rtw_get_ie() only guarantees that the element fits
within the buffer; it does not enforce a minimum body length. A
vendor-specific IE whose length byte is 0 to 5, placed at the end of
the buffer, therefore makes these reads run past the end of the IE and
past the end of the buffer itself.

The buffer holds information elements taken from received management
frames and from the IE blob passed to rtw_cfg80211_set_wpa_ie(), which
is kmemdup'd to its exact length, so the read can run off the end of
the allocation.

The sibling helpers rtw_get_sec_ie(), rtw_get_wapi_ie() and
rtw_get_wps_ie() in this file already reject too-short vendor-specific
IEs before their OUI memcmp(); rtw_get_wpa_ie() was never brought in
line with them, and needs a minimum of 6 rather than 4 bytes because
of the version word. Add the missing length check.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74651?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74651?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74651 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74651 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74651 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74651 is a high-severity 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74651 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-2026-74651/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74651/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74651
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74651
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74651

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74651/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.