CVE-2026-53257

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. An issue within the mac80211 Wi-Fi subsystem, specifically related to the enforcement of High Efficiency (HE) and Extremely High Throughput (EHT) capabilities and operations, could lead to a system crash. This vulnerability arises when HE/EHT capabilities are set without corresponding operational elements, potentially allowing a local or adjacent network attacker to trigger a denial of service.

This vulnerability is evaluated as having a Moderate severity for Red Hat because it only results in a denial of service (system crash) with no impact on confidentiality or integrity, and exploitation requires access to configure or interact with wireless networking subsystems. Most Red Hat Enterprise Linux enterprise server deployments do not configure or use wireless network interfaces, significantly limiting exposure in standard environments. Systems are only potentially at risk if they utilize wireless hardware driven by mac80211 with Wi-Fi 6 (HE) or Wi-Fi 7 (EHT) capabilities enabled.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.