Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5 mt76/mt792x tx_prepare_skb memory leak

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-$5k	0.39

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5 and classified as critical. The impacted element is the function tx_prepare_skb of the component mt76/mt792x. Performing a manipulation results in memory leak. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2026-90378. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2.5. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function tx_prepare_skb of the component mt76/mt792x. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. 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: mt76: mt792x: Fix memory leak in SDIO TX path When tx_prepare_skb() returns an error in the SDIO TX path, the skb is not freed, leading to a memory leak. This can occur when zero-length frames (such as WNM NULL frames) are dropped to prevent potential hardware TX hangs. Fix this by properly releasing the skb with ieee80211_tx_status_ext() when tx_prepare_skb() fails.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-90378 since 09/11/2026. 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 are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/17/2026). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1499 for this issue.

Upgrading to version 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.52, 7.2.6 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch b64d196280aff8494ba6fb387e37b18479c99b83/9ef1351209d42b7d96604f2a13d7ea8215a24e07/c2c7f16f2c62f79f7c381e500afa7123580742a5/6a8000c76dc34490a2bb321ad1a5f882a2ccab7c/ddf6a17d8e3d0dbb841c13c10d7c1340a138a80d/6a342db7a6502bc6781579145e05d4d4731786ab/808f2767d4217a5b96f674288573b9b89d432eed is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.15.220
• 6.1.187
• 6.6.156
• 6.12.109
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

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

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.15.221/6.1.188/6.6.157/6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc1
Patch: b64d196280aff8494ba6fb387e37b18479c99b83/9ef1351209d42b7d96604f2a13d7ea8215a24e07/c2c7f16f2c62f79f7c381e500afa7123580742a5/6a8000c76dc34490a2bb321ad1a5f882a2ccab7c/ddf6a17d8e3d0dbb841c13c10d7c1340a138a80d/6a342db7a6502bc6781579145e05d4d4731786ab/808f2767d4217a5b96f674288573b9b89d432eed

Timelineinfo

09/11/2026 CVE reserved
09/17/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
09/17/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/17/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-90378 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-90378
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-406941

Entryinfo

Created: 09/17/2026 22:09
Changes: 09/17/2026 22:09 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Discussion

Are you interested in using VulDB?

Download the whitepaper to learn more about our service!