w1.fi hostapd up to 2.11 hostapd_process_ml_assoc_req links[] off-by-one

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in w1.fi hostapd up to 2.11. It has been rated as critical. The impacted element is the function hostapd_process_ml_assoc_req. The manipulation of the argument links[] leads to off-by-one. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2026-58374. The attack must be carried out from within the local network. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in w1.fi hostapd up to 2.11. This issue affects the function hostapd_process_ml_assoc_req. The manipulation of the argument links[] with an unknown input leads to a off-by-one vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-193. A product calculates or uses an incorrect maximum or minimum value that is 1 more, or 1 less, than the correct value. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In hostapd before 2.12, a missing bounds check in AP-mode Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be) Multi-Link Operation (MLO) association request processing allows an unauthenticated attacker within wireless range to send a crafted management frame containing a malformed Multi-Link Element or Per-STA Profile subelement. In hostapd_process_ml_assoc_req() in src/ap/ieee802_11_eht.c, the received link_id field can be parsed as value 15, but the corresponding links[] storage only has valid entries for lower link IDs (0 through 14). This causes an out-of-bounds write / small memory corruption during association processing before the 4-way handshake. The attack does not require network credentials, prior authentication, or user interaction. The confirmed practical impact is denial of service through hostapd process termination. This affects hostapd v2.11 and newer development snapshots before v2.12 when built with CONFIG_IEEE80211BE enabled. The issue is fixed in hostapd v2.12 and the upstream 2026-1 fixes.

It is possible to read the advisory at w1.fi. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-58374 since 06/30/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack needs to approached within the local network. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 324023 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-58374), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 2.12 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.w1.fi. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (324023). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Vendor

• w1.fi

Name

• hostapd

Version

• 2.0
• 2.1
• 2.2
• 2.3
• 2.4
• 2.5
• 2.6
• 2.7
• 2.8
• 2.9
• 2.10
• 2.11

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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