CVE-2026-46069: wifi: mwifiex: fix use-after-free in mwifiex_adapter_cleanup()

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-05-27 · updated 2026-10-15
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mwifiex: fix use-after-free in mwifiex_adapter_cleanup() The mwifiex_adapter_cleanup() function uses timer_delete() (non-synchronous) for the wakeup_timer before the adapter structure is freed. This is incorrect because timer_delete() does not wait for any running timer callback to complete. If the wakeup_timer callback (wakeup_timer_fn) is executing when mwifiex_adapter_cleanup() is called, the callback will continue to access adapter fields (adapter->hw_status, adapter->if_ops.card_reset, etc.) which may be freed by mwifiex_free_adapter() called later in the mwifiex_remove_card() path. Use timer_delete_sync() instead to ensure any running timer callback has completed before returning.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 4.0 before 5.10.259; from 5.11 before 5.15.210; from 5.16 before 6.1.176; from 6.2 before 6.6.140; from 6.7 before 6.12.86; from 6.13 before 6.18.27 — fixed in 5.10.259, 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 6.6.140

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.259, 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.12.86. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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