Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc3 mwifiex mwifiex_ret_802_11_associate ps_state state issue

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.2$0-$5k0.00+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc3 and classified as critical. This affects the function mwifiex_ret_802_11_associate of the component mwifiex. Performing a manipulation of the argument ps_state results in state issue. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-68469. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc3. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function mwifiex_ret_802_11_associate of the component mwifiex. The manipulation of the argument ps_state with an unknown input leads to a state issue vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-371. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mwifiex: fix permanently busy scans after multiple roam iterations In order for the firmware to sleep, the driver has to confirm a previously received sleep request. The normal sequence of evets goes like this: EVENT_SLEEP -> adapter->ps_state = PS_STATE_PRE_SLEEP -> sleep-confirm -> SLEEP -> EVENT_AWAKE -> AWAKE. Before sending the sleep-confirm command, the driver must make sure there are no commands either running or waiting to be completed. mwifiex_ret_802_11_associate() unconditionally sets ps_state = PS_STATE_AWAKE when it processes the association command response, outside of the normal powersave management flow. If EVENT_SLEEP arrives while the association command is in flight, ps_state is PRE_SLEEP when the association command response is parsed, and the forced AWAKE overwrites it. The deferred sleep-confirm is never sent. A subsequent scan_start command is correctly acknowledged, but the firmware doesn't generate scan_result events. The scan request never finishes, and additional requests from userspace fail with -EBUSY. After testing on both IW412 and W8997, I could only trigger the bug on the IW412 and observed the firmwares behave differently. On the IW412 the firmware still sends EVENT_SLEEP while the authentication / association process is ongoing. A W8997 under the same conditions seems to suppress power-save for the duration of the association, so PRE_SLEEP never coincided with the association response even after extended periods of testing using the loops described below (>12hours). On the IW412, the delay between commands that triggers an EVENT_SLEEP was empirically determined to be ~20ms. This delay can naturally occur when the driver is outputting debugging information (debug_mask = 0x00000037), in which situation the busy scans issue is repeatable while running "test 1)" as described below. If the delay between commands is less than ~20ms, the firmware stays awake and the issue was not reproducible running the same test. The host_mlme=false path also behaves differently. In this case, the entire authentication / association transaction is executed by one command (HostCmd_CMD_802_11_ASSOCIATE), and the firmware doesn't emit EVENT_SLEEP while the command is running. Remove the assignment so the ps_state is only manipulated in the paths that are related to powersave event handling and on the main workqueue for correct sleep confirmation. The following loop tests were performed (with debugging output enabled): 1) force roaming between two AP's, one 5GHz and one 2.4GHz, same SSID. Use wpa_cli to trigger the roaming behavior, sleep 2s between iterations. 2) force a disconnection to AP 1 and a connection to AP 2, test scan. Use wpa_cli to trigger the connection changes, sleep 2s between iterations. Each test ran in each device for at least 3 hours.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-68469 since 07/30/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 2ed36b2586f16c480ed58de303af704c2235e16d/5796eabe435d83544b6fe39851ce47ca68fdb778/31a2c409f8f58d20f0f6391c151421155768ed77/deb5f0ae384f1cf41fccaf6375266db2f2911b2b/1bc55db2d34756bd53e4460dbb699619ee13cd7f/a59cfa165aee3e29d06145041c0ebe46a51de604/6126e12bf8c87badeab41a164c9689ac88e5c160/d78a407bad6f500884a8606aea1a5a9207be4030 is able to eliminate this problem.

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.2

VulDB Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Temp Score: 7.2
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: State issue
CWE: CWE-371
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.261/5.15.212/6.1.178/6.6.145/6.12.97/6.18.40/7.1.5/7.2-rc4
Patch: 2ed36b2586f16c480ed58de303af704c2235e16d/5796eabe435d83544b6fe39851ce47ca68fdb778/31a2c409f8f58d20f0f6391c151421155768ed77/deb5f0ae384f1cf41fccaf6375266db2f2911b2b/1bc55db2d34756bd53e4460dbb699619ee13cd7f/a59cfa165aee3e29d06145041c0ebe46a51de604/6126e12bf8c87badeab41a164c9689ac88e5c160/d78a407bad6f500884a8606aea1a5a9207be4030

Timelineinfo

07/30/2026 CVE reserved
08/15/2026 +16 days Advisory disclosed
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-68469 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-68469
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390183

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 08:07
Changes: 08/15/2026 08:07 (60)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

◂ PreviousOverviewNext ▸

Want to stay up to date on a daily basis?

Enable the mail alert feature now!