High [CVE-2026-64176] fix driver-set TX rates on old devices
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-64176 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.
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Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: mvm: fix driver-set TX rates on old devices On old devices such as 7265D, rates are still encoded in version 1 format, which doesn't use the CCK/OFDM rate index (0-3/0-7) but rather their PLCP value (e.g.
10 for 1 Mbps CCK rate.) While introducing v3 rates, I changed the driver from internally handling v1 rates and converting to v2, to internally handling v3 and converting to v1 or v2 according to the firmware. I accordingly changed the code in iwl_mvm_mac80211_idx_to_hwrate() to no longer have different values for different APIs.
This was correct. However, I later reverted this part of the change, because it was reported that I had broken beacon rates, causing a FW assert/crash.
This caused TX_CMD rates to be set incorrectly, potentially causing a warning when reported back from the device as having been used. Fix this (hopefully correctly now) by handling beacon rates in the TX_CMD that's embedded in the beacon template command separately.
Restore iwl_mvm_mac80211_idx_to_hwrate() to return only the rate index, not PLCP value, fixing the real TX_CMD. A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's iwlwifi driver, affecting older Intel wireless devices.
This vulnerability arises from incorrect handling of transmit (TX) rates, specifically when the driver attempts to set these rates.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 6 days ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 6 days ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- To prevent the `iwlwifi` kernel module from loading, which disables Intel wireless functionality, create a blacklist rule. 1. Create the file `/etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-iwlwifi.conf` with the following content: ``` blacklist iwlwifi install iwlwifi /bin/true ``` 2. Regenerate the initramfs to apply the changes: ```bash dracut -f -v ``` For systems using `mkinitrd`: ```bash mkinitrd -f -v /boot/initramfs-$(uname -r).img $(uname -r) ``` 3. A system reboot is required for this change to take effect.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 6 days ago·verify at source
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