# CVE-2026-80948: wifi: iwlwifi: dvm: fix memory leak in iwl_op_mode_dvm_start()

> A memory leak in the iwlwifi driver allows attackers to cause denial of service by triggering specific error paths during initialization.

- **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:** 11 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-100657, BELL-CVE-2026-80948, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80948, GHSA-mrmg-jqr4-hg37, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80948

## What is CVE-2026-80948?

CVE-2026-80948 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: iwlwifi: dvm: fix memory leak in iwl_op_mode_dvm_start()

In iwl_op_mode_dvm_start(), jumping to out_free_eeprom currently bypasses
the out_free_eeprom_blob label. Consequently, error paths triggered after
successfully parsing the EEPROM free priv->nvm_data but leak
priv->eeprom_blob.

Fix this memory leak by reordering the error handling labels so
that out_free_eeprom falls through to out_free_eeprom_blob.

The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are
developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing
v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly
available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still
present in v7.1-rc6.

An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have
supported Intel DVM wireless hardware and firmware to test with, no
runtime testing was able to be performed.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80948?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-80948?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-80948 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80948 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80948 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-80948 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80948 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-2026-80948/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80948/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80948
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80948
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80948

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80948/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.