# CVE-2026-98160: staging: rtl8723bs: fix mismatched free of HalData in rtw_sdio_if1_init()

CVE-2026-98160 is fixed in 12 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98160, released September 25, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98160
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 7.8 (Important)
- EPSS: 0.0011
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98160

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:  staging: rtl8723bs: fix mismatched free of HalData in rtw_sdio_if1_init()  padapter->HalData is allocated via vzalloc(), but incorrectly freed using kfree() in the rtw_sdio_if1_init() error path. Using kfree() to release this vmalloc-backed buffer can lead to memory corruption.  Use rtw_hal_data_deinit() to pair the free correctly and free HalData with vfree().  The bug was first flagged by an experimental static analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs. Manual inspection confirms that the issue is still present in current mainline.  An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have suitable RTL8723BS SDIO hardware to test with, no runtime testing was able to be performed.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | kernel-64kb sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-azure sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default-base sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1.150700.17.51.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-docs sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7_Update_24 sles 15.7 | 1-150700.15.3.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-obs-build sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-source sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-syms sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-zfcpdump sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.90.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:5091-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-5091-1.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.1.190-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98160](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-98160.md) | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 6.12.111-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98160](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-98160.md) | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 14 | 7.2.6-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98160](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-98160.md) | Sep 25, 2026 |
| Linux | linux-6.12 Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98160](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-98160.md) | Sep 25, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-08T19:12:23Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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