CVE-2026-80942 wifi: rtlwifi: rtl8192du: Fix possible memory leak in rtl92du_init_sw_vars()
A memory leak in the rtl8192du WiFi driver allows attackers to cause denial of service by exhausting 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-2026-80942?
CVE-2026-80942 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 11 Sep 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: rtlwifi: rtl8192du: Fix possible memory leak in rtl92du_init_sw_vars()
The memory allocated inside rtl92du_init_shared_data() is not freed in any of the subsequent error paths in rtl92du_init_sw_vars(). Fix that by adding a call to rtl92du_deinit_shared_data() in the error path.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80942?
How do I fix CVE-2026-80942?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-80942 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80942 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-80942, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80942, GHSA-26cr-hp89-hvf4, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80942.