How severe is CVE-2026-74649?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2026-74649 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-74649?

CVE-2026-74649 affects the following packages: Kernel (Linux). Ecosystems affected: Linux.

How do I fix CVE-2026-74649?

Update Kernel to 5.15.216 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-74649 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-74649 in my Linux dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-74649 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-74649?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-74649 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2026-74649 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-74649 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

When was CVE-2026-74649 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-74649 was published on August 22, 2026 and was last updated on August 24, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐧 Linux

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2026-74649

CVE-2026-74649 is a remote code execution vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-74649 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

staging: rtl8723bs: fix missing shared-key auth challenge length check

Published

Aug 22, 2026

Updated

Aug 24, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Aug 24, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐧Kernel

Real-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:

staging: rtl8723bs: fix missing shared-key auth challenge length check

The WEP shared-key authentication handler uses the challenge-text element's attacker-controlled length without checking it against the fixed 128-byte chg_txt buffer.

In OnAuthClient() the length from rtw_get_ie() - up to 255 - is used to perform memcpy() into the 128-byte pmlmeinfo->chg_txt, so a malicious AP sending a malformed WLAN_EID_CHALLENGE element can overflow/underfill chg_txt by up to 127 bytes. It is reachable over the air, before association, during shared-key authentication. In the case of an overflow, the driver can write out of bounds. In the case of an underfill, the driver can echo stale buffer memory.

The challenge text is defined to be exactly 128 octets, which is already provided as the WLAN_AUTH_CHALLENGE_LEN define; require the element to be exactly that length before use.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐧Linux	`Kernel`	≥ 4.12.0&&< 5.15.216	5.15.216

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
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 5.15.216 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-74649 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-2026-74649 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-2026-74649. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: staging: rtl8723bs: fix missing shared-key auth challenge length check The WEP shared-key authentication handler uses the challenge-text element's attacker-controlled length without checking it against the fixed 128-byte chg_txt buffer. In OnAuthClient() the length from rtw_get_ie() - up to 255 - is used to perform memcpy() into the 128-byte pmlmeinfo->chg_txt, so a malicious AP sending a malformed WLAN_EID_CHALLENGE element can overflow/underfill chg_txt by up to 127 bytes. It is reachable over the air, before association,

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-74649 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-74649 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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