# CVE-2026-98828: wifi: ath9k: reject short WMI command responses

> A flaw in the ath9k Wi-Fi driver allows out-of-bounds reads from short WMI responses, potentially leaking memory or causing crashes.

- **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:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-109304, BELL-CVE-2026-98828, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98828, GHSA-hwh7-fwf3-88qj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98828

## What is CVE-2026-98828?

CVE-2026-98828 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: ath9k: reject short WMI command responses

ath9k_wmi_rsp_callback() removes the validated WMI header and copies
the number of bytes expected by the waiting command into its response
buffer. A device response shorter than that expectation can therefore
be read beyond the skb payload.

Record -EMSGSIZE for a short response, complete the waiter, and return
the stored status from the command path. This also prevents callers from
consuming stale response bytes as a successful reply.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98828?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98828?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98828 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98828 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98828 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98828 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-2026-98828 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-2026-98828/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98828/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98828
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98828
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98828

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98828/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.