CVE-2026-53112
wifi: rtlwifi: pci: fix possible use-after-free caused by unfinished irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
KernelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: rtlwifi: pci: fix possible use-after-free caused by unfinished irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet
The irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet is initialized in rtl_pci_init() and scheduled when RTL_IMR_BCNINT interrupt is triggered by hardware. But it is never killed in rtl_pci_deinit(). When the rtlwifi card probe fails or is being detached, the ieee80211_hw is deallocated. However, irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet may still be running or pending, leading to use-after-free when the freed ieee80211_hw is accessed in _rtl_pci_prepare_bcn_tasklet().
Similar to irq_tasklet, add tasklet_kill() in rtl_pci_deinit() to ensure that irq_prepare_bcn_tasklet is properly terminated before the ieee80211_hw is released.
The issue was identified through static analysis.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 2.6.38&&< 5.10.258 | 5.10.258 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update Kernel to 5.10.258 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-53112 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-53112 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-53112. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-53112 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-53112 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.