Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2026-46166
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: use safe list iteration in radar detect work The call to ieee80211_dfs_cac_cancel can cause the iterated chanctx to be freed and removed from the list. Guard against this to avoid a slab-use-after-free error.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Linux kernel's mac80211 wireless driver where iterating over a chanctx list while calling ieee80211_dfs_cac_cancel can free and remove the currently-iterated context from the list, leading to a slab-use-after-free error. The fix requires using safe list iteration instead of standard iteration.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
>= 6.12, < 6.12.88>= 6.13, < 6.18.30>= 6.19, < 7.0.7= 7.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check kernel versionRun 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version' to get the running kernel versionAffected if The kernel version falls within the affected ranges: >= 6.12 and < 6.12.88, OR >= 6.13 and < 6.18.30, OR >= 6.19 and < 7.0.7, OR equals 7.1
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Verify mac80211 wireless driver is in useRun 'lsmod | grep mac80211' or check if wireless interfaces exist using 'iwconfig' or 'ip link show'Affected if The mac80211 module is loaded or softmac wireless interfaces are present (wlan* or phy* devices)
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Confirm DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) is activeRun 'iw list' and look for DFS support in the phy* device capabilities, or check 'iw dev' output for interfaces operating on 5GHz channelsAffected if Wireless interfaces are using 5GHz frequency bands where DFS is required for radar detection (channels 52-144 in many regions)
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Inspect the vulnerable code pathCheck if the file net/mac80211/dfs.c exists in the kernel source and contains ieee80211_dfs_cac_cancel function; examine the list iteration patternAffected if The kernel source contains the vulnerable ieee80211_dfs_cac_cancel function using unsafe list_for_each_entry instead of list_for_each_entry_safe
A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable kernel version AND uses mac80211 wireless with active DFS radar detection on 5GHz channels.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped6.12.886.18.307.0.7
Apply the kernel patch that replaces unsafe list iteration with safe iteration (e.g., list_for_each_entry_safe) when processing chanctx in radar detect work to prevent concurrent modification during iteration.
Linux kernel 6.12.88 / 6.18.30 / 7.0.7 / 7.2 (depending on your current branch)
- 1. Check the currently running kernel version with: uname -r
- 2. Identify which affected branch (6.12, 6.13-6.18, 6.19-7.0, or 7.1) your current kernel belongs to
- 3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the first fixed version in your branch:
- - For 6.12.x: upgrade to 6.12.88 or later
- - For 6.13.x through 6.18.x: upgrade to 6.18.30 or later
- - For 6.19.x through 7.0.x: upgrade to 7.0.7 or later
- - For 7.1.x: upgrade to 7.2 or later
- 4. Update bootloader configuration if necessary (e.g., update-grub for GRUB)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Linux Kernel
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-46166 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-46166 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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