In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: iwlwifi: mld: stop TX during firmware restart
When iwlwifi firmware crashes (e.g., NMI_INTERRUPT_UNKNOWN on Intel BE201/Wi-Fi 7), iwl_mld_nic_error() sets mld->fw_status.in_hw_restart to true. However, iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() does not check this flag before dequeuing frames from mac80211 and pushing them to the transport layer.
Since the firmware is dead, iwl_trans_tx() returns -EIO for each frame, which then gets freed immediately. Under high-throughput conditions (e.g., Tailscale UDP traffic or active SSH sessions), this creates a tight dequeue-send-fail-free loop that wastes CPU cycles and generates rapid skb allocation churn, leading to memory pressure from slab fragmentation.
The RX path already has this guard (iwl_mld_rx_mpdu checks in_hw_restart at rx.c:1906), and so does the TXQ allocation worker (iwl_mld_add_txqs_wk at tx.c:156). Add the same guard to iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() to stop all TX during firmware restart.
Frames left in mac80211's TXQs are naturally drained after restart completes, when queue reallocation triggers iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() via iwl_mld_add_txq_list(), or when new upper-layer traffic invokes wake_tx_queue.
Tested on ASUS Zenbook 14 UX3405CA with Intel BE201 (Wi-Fi 7) on kernel 6.19.5 where the firmware crashes approximately every 10-15 minutes under Tailscale traffic.
CVSS Details
- CVSS 3.1 Base Score: 7.5
- CVSS 3.1 Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H)
Covered by Rapid7
| Product | Vendor Advisory | Solution File | Added | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redhat_linux | — | Upgrade kernel-rtNo solution existsUpgrade kernel | Jul 21, 2026 | Jul 19, 2026 |
| Ubuntu | — | Upgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1009-aws-64kUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1016-nvidia-64kUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1009-azure-fdeUpgrade linux-image-azure-fde-7.0Upgrade linux-image-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-oracle-7.0Upgrade linux-image-azure-7.0Upgrade linux-image-gcp-7.0Upgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1010-ibmUpgrade linux-image-oracleUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1008-oracleUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-bos-7.0Upgrade linux-image-nvidia-hwe-26.04Upgrade linux-image-aws-64kUpgrade linux-image-raspi-realtimeUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-64kUpgrade linux-image-oracle-64k-7.0Upgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1015-raspi-realtimeUpgrade linux-image-gcpUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1009-awsUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1011-gcpUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-64k-hwe-26.04Upgrade linux-image-raspi-7.0Upgrade linux-image-ibmUpgrade linux-image-gcp-64kUpgrade linux-image-awsUpgrade linux-image-azure-fdeUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1015-raspiUpgrade linux-image-aws-7.0Upgrade linux-image-nvidia-bos-64kUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-bosUpgrade linux-image-aws-64k-7.0Upgrade linux-image-raspiUpgrade linux-image-ibm-7.0Upgrade linux-image-7.0.0-2016-nvidia-bos-64kUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1008-oracle-64kUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-bos-64k-7.0Upgrade linux-image-gcp-64k-7.0Upgrade linux-image-azureUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1010-azureUpgrade linux-image-raspi-realtime-7.0Upgrade linux-image-7.0.0-2016-nvidia-bosUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1011-gcp-64kUpgrade linux-image-7.0.0-1016-nvidiaUpgrade linux-image-nvidia-64k-7.0Upgrade linux-image-nvidia-7.0Upgrade linux-image-nvidia | Jul 21, 2026 | Jul 20, 2026 |
Prioritise with Active Threat Intelligence
With curated Threat Intelligence, you can see which vulnerabilities truly put you at risk, prioritize what matters most, and act before attackers do.
Explore Intelligence Hub