# CVE-2026-98705: wifi: mac80211: account proxy paths against the mesh path limit

> An attacker can cause a negative counter in the Linux kernel mesh networking code, bypassing path limits and potentially causing a denial of service.

- **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:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-108572, BELL-CVE-2026-98705, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98705, GHSA-r63c-mg4x-3hrx, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98705

## What is CVE-2026-98705?

CVE-2026-98705 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 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: mac80211: account proxy paths against the mesh path limit

Proxy-path churn can drive the interface path counter negative and let
later mesh path additions exceed MESH_MAX_MPATHS.

mesh_path_free_rcu() decrements the interface mpaths counter for entries
from both the mesh and proxy path tables, but mpp_path_add() never
reserves a slot in that counter. Removing or expiring a proxy path
therefore returns a slot that was never charged.

mesh_path_add() uses the same counter to enforce MESH_MAX_MPATHS, so once
it falls below the number of installed paths the limit no longer holds.

Reserve the shared quota before allocating a proxy path and release it on
every unsuccessful addition. Mesh and proxy paths now share one
1024-entry budget, so mpp_path_add() can return -ENOSPC at that limit.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98705?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98705?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98705 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98705 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98705 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98705 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 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-2026-98705 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-2026-98705/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98705/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98705
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98705
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98705

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98705/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.