# CVE-2026-98185: wifi: mwifiex: validate scan response extents

> An integer underflow in the mwifiex Wi-Fi driver allows attackers to trigger out-of-bounds memory access via crafted scan responses, potentially causing crashes or code execution.

- **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:** 6 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-106410, BELL-CVE-2026-98185, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98185, GHSA-wqr3-9qxq-6r7p, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98185

## What is CVE-2026-98185?

CVE-2026-98185 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 6 Oct 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: mwifiex: validate scan response extents

mwifiex_ret_802_11_scan() subtracts the fixed response fields and the
firmware-provided BSS length from resp->size without first proving that
either extent fits. A short response or oversized BSS length can
therefore underflow tlv_buf_size and make the TLV parser walk beyond the
command response.

Compute the fixed extent from the selected normal or background scan
response. Validate that the fixed fields and BSS data fit before deriving
the TLV extent and entering the parser.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98185?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98185?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98185 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98185 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98185 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98185 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 6 Oct 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-2026-98185 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-2026-98185/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98185/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98185
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98185
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98185

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98185/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.