CVE-2026-98236 net: wwan: mhi_wwan_mbim: check skb_copy_bits() return value
A malicious modem can leak kernel heap memory into the network stack by providing invalid datagram offsets in the Linux kernel WWAN driver.
- 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-2026-98236?
CVE-2026-98236 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:
net: wwan: mhi_wwan_mbim: check skb_copy_bits() return value
mhi_mbim_rx() ignores the return value of skb_copy_bits() when it copies each datagram out of the NTB. The datagram offset and length come from the DPE, which is only checked to lie within the NTB itself, so a modem can point a datagram outside the received skb. The copy then fails and the freshly allocated skbn is passed to netif_rx() with its uninitialized contents still in place, leaking kernel heap memory into the network stack.
Free the skb and account an error when the copy fails.
Verified in a QEMU guest with a fault injector pointing a DPE outside the received NTB: the copy fails, and the unpatched driver hands the uninitialized skbn to the network stack (observed as "unknown protocol" on bytes that were never written). With this check the failed datagram is dropped and counted as an rx error.
Changes in v2: factor the free-and-count sequence out into mhi_mbim_rx_drop(), shared with the unknown-protocol path, as suggested by Loic Poulain.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98236?
How do I fix CVE-2026-98236?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-98236 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98236 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-106221, BELL-CVE-2026-98236, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98236, GHSA-f277-f268-9h2q, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98236.