---
id: CVE-2026-98182
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  wifi: mac80211: refuse to make a monitor active when it has no queue

  A monitor interface only gets a TXQ if it's created active, and one can't
  be added later
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  wifi: mac80211: refuse to make a monitor active when it has no queue

  A monitor interface only gets a TXQ if it's created active, and one can't
  be added later. Setting …
severity: medium
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 79af1f866193de29e65a4dba7d0dab14b0c0ff93 <
    b7b7d46ec4fa127767931938b282c361c0519af6
  - >-
    Linux >= 79af1f866193de29e65a4dba7d0dab14b0c0ff93 <
    abe15e643e576459469867758ae9c586a7bab95d
  - >-
    Linux >= 79af1f866193de29e65a4dba7d0dab14b0c0ff93 <
    46c223468537a05a404699771cd3e68532dab5e6
  - >-
    Linux >= 79af1f866193de29e65a4dba7d0dab14b0c0ff93 <
    2b04d6556964ae9f89819b86a0a7801e39c3aae5
  - Linux 4.15
published: '2026-10-06'
updated: '2026-10-06'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-06T09:18:02.967'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98182'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b04d6556964ae9f89819b86a0a7801e39c3aae5'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46c223468537a05a404699771cd3e68532dab5e6'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/abe15e643e576459469867758ae9c586a7bab95d'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b7b7d46ec4fa127767931938b282c361c0519af6'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98182.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98182'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2546359'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98182'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98182'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98182.mbox
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
ingestedAt: '2026-10-06T08:50:17.451Z'
epss: 0.00168
epssPercentile: 0.0604
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe:
  - CWE-476
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: mac80211: refuse to make a monitor active when it has no queue

A monitor interface only gets a TXQ if it's created active, and one can't
be added later. Setting the flag on a down interface is still allowed, so
the driver is handed a monitor with no queue. ath9k dereferences it:

  BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000066
  RIP: 0010:ath_tx_node_init+0x49/0x170 [ath9k]
   ath9k_add_interface+0x10c/0x140 [ath9k]
   drv_add_interface+0x54/0x250 [mac80211]
   ieee80211_do_open+0x32f/0x800 [mac80211]

Reached with CAP_NET_ADMIN by "iw dev X set monitor active" followed by
"ip link set X up". RTNL is held, so netlink operations block behind it.

Refuse the flag when there is no queue to give.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, … · updated 2026-10-17 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98182.json)