Description
In hostapd before 2.12, a missing bounds check in AP-mode Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be) Multi-Link Operation (MLO) association request processing allows an unauthenticated attacker within wireless range to send a crafted management frame containing a malformed Multi-Link Element or Per-STA Profile subelement. In hostapd_process_ml_assoc_req() in src/ap/ieee802_11_eht.c, the received link_id field can be parsed as value 15, but the corresponding links[] storage only has valid entries for lower link IDs (0 through 14). This causes an out-of-bounds write / small memory corruption during association processing before the 4-way handshake. The attack does not require network credentials, prior authentication, or user interaction. The confirmed practical impact is denial of service through hostapd process termination. This affects hostapd v2.11 and newer development snapshots before v2.12 when built with CONFIG_IEEE80211BE enabled. The issue is fixed in hostapd v2.12 and the upstream 2026-1 fixes.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| w1.fi | hostapd | < 2.12 | 2.12 |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 10 | hostapd | 2.11-3.el10_2 | RHSA-2026:85276 |
| RHEL 9 | hostapd | 2.11-3.el9_8 | RHSA-2026:85277 |
AlmaLinux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 10 | hostapd | 2.11-3.el10_2 | ALSA-2026:85276 |
| AlmaLinux 9 | hostapd | 2.11-3.el9_8 | ALSA-2026:85277 |
Rocky Linux
Errata ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 10 | hostapd | 2.11-3.el10_2 | RLSA-2026:85276 |
| Rocky Linux 9 | hostapd | 2.11-3.el9_8 | RLSA-2026:85277 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | wpa_supplicant | 2.11-150700.3.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3103-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | wpa_supplicant | 2.11-160000.4.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22851-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | wpa_supplicant | 2.11-160000.4.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22851-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | wpa_supplicant | 2.11-160000.4.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:22931-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | wpa_supplicant | 2.11-slfo.1.1_2.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:23072-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | hostapd | 2.11-4.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11278-1 |
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | wpa_supplicant | 2.11-7.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11253-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | hostapd | 2.11-bp160.3.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21360-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | wpa_supplicant | 2.11-160000.4.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:21415-1 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 10 | hostapd | 2.11-3.el10_2 | ELSA-2026-85276 |
| Oracle Linux 9 | hostapd | 2.11-3.el9_8 | ELSA-2026-85277 |
Advisories 17
- ALSA-2026:85277 Moderate: hostapd security update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- ALSA-2026:85276 Moderate: hostapd security update AlmaLinux Security Advisories · Oct 29, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-2154 hostapd: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 21, 2026
- RLSA-2026:85276 Moderate: hostapd security update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Oct 21, 2026
- RLSA-2026:85277 Moderate: hostapd security update Rocky Linux Security Advisories · Oct 21, 2026
- RHSA-2026:85277 Red Hat Security Advisory: hostapd security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
- RHSA-2026:85276 Red Hat Security Advisory: hostapd security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
- ELSA-2026-85276 Moderate: hostapd security update (Oracle Linux 10) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Oct 19, 2026
- ELSA-2026-85277 Moderate: hostapd security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Oct 19, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:23072-1 Security update for wpa_supplicant SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 14, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22931-1 Security update for wpa_supplicant SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 29, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:22851-1 Security update for wpa_supplicant SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 28, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21415-1 Security update for wpa_supplicant SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 24, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3103-1 Security update for wpa_supplicant SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 18, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:21360-1 Security update for hostapd SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 17, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11278-1 hostapd-2.11-4.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 16, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11253-1 wpa_supplicant-2.11-7.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 11, 2026
References
- hostap security advisory 2026-1: Missing multi-link parsing validation in wpa_supplicant and hostapd vendor-advisory
- hostap security advisory 2026-1 patch directory vendor-advisory patch
- Fix commit 46dd5a4 - missing link ID bounds check patch
- Fix commit aa9d345 - BSS bounds check for link_id patch
- https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/06/30/1