CVE-2026-53112: wifi: rtlwifi: pci: fix possible use-after-free caused by unfinished irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-06-24 · updated 2026-07-23
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rtlwifi: pci: fix possible use-after-free caused by unfinished irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet The irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet is initialized in rtl_pci_init() and scheduled when RTL_IMR_BCNINT interrupt is triggered by hardware. But it is never killed in rtl_pci_deinit(). When the rtlwifi card probe fails or is being detached, the ieee80211_hw is deallocated. However, irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet may still be running or pending, leading to use-after-free when the freed ieee80211_hw is accessed in _rtl_pci_prepare_bcn_tasklet(). Similar to irq_tasklet, add tasklet_kill() in rtl_pci_deinit() to ensure that irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet is properly terminated before the ieee80211_hw is released. The issue was identified through static analysis.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 2.6.38 before 5.10.258; from 5.11 before 5.15.209; from 5.16 before 6.1.175; from 6.2 before 6.6.141; from 6.7 before 6.12.91; from 6.13 before 6.18.33 — fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.12.91, 6.18.33, 6.6.141

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.12.91. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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