Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52 mac80211_hwsim hwsim_tx_info_frame_received_nl out-of-bounds

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.
9.5	$0-$5k	0.80-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52. Affected by this vulnerability is the function hwsim_tx_info_frame_received_nl of the component mac80211_hwsim. This manipulation causes out-of-bounds. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-98887. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52. Affected by this vulnerability is the function hwsim_tx_info_frame_received_nl of the component mac80211_hwsim. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a out-of-bounds vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-125. The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211_hwsim: reject undersized HWSIM_ATTR_TX_INFO hwsim_tx_info_frame_received_nl() casts the HWSIM_ATTR_TX_INFO payload to a struct hwsim_tx_rate * and unconditionally reads IEEE80211_TX_MAX_RATES entries (8 bytes) from it. The policy only bounds the attribute from above (NLA_BINARY .len is a maximum) and the op sets GENL_DONT_VALIDATE_STRICT, so a short or zero-length attribute is accepted and the loop reads past the payload. Require the exact length in the policy, so a malformed attribute is rejected before the handler runs.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-98887 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. 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 10/23/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111 or 6.18.53 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3a96bb65b4b820d8b41fa155781ec1c29e3479d4/59e1f2a0242232b4a3af144ae317d3913fc09046/1ae85bb34fe3510659b86d6a5f8036dd498233f8/6f6368b20f8c9481fa7ba7b672dcb3c9f36b2695/b5b1234bbfa25537fb9a5c0d62c328ed4547f721/13edd8ea7ff2ce6a964b290ef2034cd8cbed96c7/3dc723ac78a6e4fa0fd49e27e487ed319da40a9f is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.270
• 5.15.221
• 6.1.188
• 6.6.157
• 6.12.110
• 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
• 6.18.52

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: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
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: Out-of-bounds
CWE: CWE-125 / CWE-119
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 5.10.271/5.15.222/6.1.189/6.6.158/6.12.111/6.18.53
Patch: 3a96bb65b4b820d8b41fa155781ec1c29e3479d4/59e1f2a0242232b4a3af144ae317d3913fc09046/1ae85bb34fe3510659b86d6a5f8036dd498233f8/6f6368b20f8c9481fa7ba7b672dcb3c9f36b2695/b5b1234bbfa25537fb9a5c0d62c328ed4547f721/13edd8ea7ff2ce6a964b290ef2034cd8cbed96c7/3dc723ac78a6e4fa0fd49e27e487ed319da40a9f

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/23/2026 +28 days Advisory disclosed
10/23/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/23/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98887 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98887
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-425755

Entryinfo

Created: 10/23/2026 14:57
Changes: 10/23/2026 14:57 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Discussion

Do you want to use VulDB in your project?

Use the official API to access entries easily!