Severity by source
AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Adjacent WiFi delivery with no auth needed; OOB read yields kernel heap disclosure (C:H) and crash potential (A:H) with no write primitive (I:N).
Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).
CVSS VectorVendor: Linux
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionCVE.org
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
staging: rtl8723bs: fix OOB read in rtw_get_wpa_ie()
rtw_get_wpa_ie() reads bytes at fixed offsets into a vendor-specific information element without checking that the element is long enough, causing an out-of-bounds read for a short trailing IE.
The function locates a vendor-specific IE (EID 221) with rtw_get_ie() and then compares a 4-byte OUI+type at pbuf + 2 and reads a 2-byte version word at pbuf + 6. Those accesses require the IE body to be at least 6 bytes, but rtw_get_ie() only guarantees that the element fits within the buffer; it does not enforce a minimum body length. A vendor-specific IE whose length byte is 0 to 5, placed at the end of the buffer, therefore makes these reads run past the end of the IE and past the end of the buffer itself.
The buffer holds information elements taken from received management frames and from the IE blob passed to rtw_cfg80211_set_wpa_ie(), which is kmemdup'd to its exact length, so the read can run off the end of the allocation.
The sibling helpers rtw_get_sec_ie(), rtw_get_wapi_ie() and rtw_get_wps_ie() in this file already reject too-short vendor-specific IEs before their OUI memcmp(); rtw_get_wpa_ie() was never brought in line with them, and needs a minimum of 6 rather than 4 bytes because of the version word. Add the missing length check.
AnalysisAI
Out-of-bounds read in the Linux kernel's staging RTL8723BS WiFi driver allows adjacent-network unauthenticated attackers to leak kernel heap memory or crash the affected system by transmitting a crafted 802.11 management frame. The flaw lives in rtw_get_wpa_ie(), which accesses fixed byte offsets within a vendor-specific information element without verifying the IE body is at least 6 bytes long, enabling reads past the end of a kmemdup'd allocation when a short trailing IE is present. …
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Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Exploitation requires the target system to have an RTL8723BS WiFi chipset physically installed and the r8723bs kernel staging module actively loaded - systems without this hardware or with the module blacklisted are not exploitable. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | The CVSS 8.1 score (AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H) accurately reflects the vulnerability class: a no-authentication, low-complexity adjacent-network read that can yield kernel heap disclosure and system crash. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | An attacker positioned within WiFi radio range of a device running the unpatched Linux kernel with the r8723bs staging module loaded crafts a malicious 802.11 management frame containing a vendor-specific information element (EID 221) with a body length field set to 0-5 bytes, placed at the tail of the IE buffer. When the RTL8723BS driver ingests this frame and rtw_get_wpa_ie() processes it, the function reads 6 bytes at the IE start without a length check, running off the end of the kmemdup'd allocation and potentially disclosing adjacent kernel heap contents or triggering a kernel panic. … |
| Remediation | Upgrade to a patched stable kernel release corresponding to your current stable branch: 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, or 7.2. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
Recommended ActionAI
Within 24 hours, identify and catalog all systems running the RTL8723BS WiFi driver, including embedded devices, IoT gateways, edge controllers, and single-board computers currently in operation. …
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Same technique Buffer Overflow
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-64588
GHSA-849j-9cq7-9mpx