cfg80211_vendor_event_alloc(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

🌸 cfg80211_vendor_event_alloc(9) — Kernel API Manual 🌸

okay so bestie, buckle up, we're diving into cfg80211_vendor_event_alloc 💖 this is from the Kernel API Manual and it's genuinely one of those little helper functions that does exactly what it says on the tin — no cap.

✨ NAME ✨

cfg80211_vendor_event_alloc — allocate a vendor-specific event skb 🎀

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

struct sk_buff * cfg80211_vendor_event_alloc (struct wiphy *wiphy ,
       struct wireless_dev *wdev , int approxlen , int event_idx , gfp_t gfp );

like, five args, one struct sk_buff * back out. she's giving "utility function that carries the whole team" 💅

👑 ARGUMENTS 👑

  • wiphy — the wiphy 🌈 (yes, the wiphy. iconic.)
  • wdev — the wireless device 🫶
  • approxlen — an upper bound of the length of the data that will be put into the skb 📏 literally just an upper bound, not a promise, not an exactness situation
  • event_idx — index of the vendor event in the wiphy's vendor_events 🔢
  • gfp — allocation flags 🌱 (the GFP flags, you know the vibe)

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

so what does she actually do? this function allocates and pre-fills an skb for an event on the vendor-specific multicast group ✨ like, both steps, one call, no extra work for you.

here's the little detail that matters a lot: if wdev != NULL, then both the ifindex and the identifier of the specified wireless device get added to the event message before the vendor data attribute 🎀 so the ordering is ifindex + identifier first, then the vendor data attribute. periodt.

and when you're done filling the skb 🧚 call cfg80211_vendor_event with the skb to actually send the event. that's the whole pipeline iykyk.

⭐ RETURN ⭐

an allocated and pre-filled skb 💖 that's the dream. and then — NULL if any errors happen 😭 like, any errors. no fancy error codes here, just vibes and a NULL.

✨ SEE ALSO ✨

okay bestie, this is the part where the page just hands you the entire extended cinematic universe 💅 like the whole friend group is linked down here. Everyone's got a (9) after their name so you already know the drill — go read them next, they're all part of the same saga 🫶

  • Kernel file ./include/net/cfg80211.h — the actual source file, the mothership, the origin story 🌸

🎀 the starters

  • Introduction(9) — start here if you're new, no cap
  • Device registration(9) — how the device part shows up to the party

📡 bands, channels, rates & caps (the capability lore)

🔧 Actions and configuration (9)

the whole "make it do the thing" section, and it is long — buckle up buttercup 🌈

🔍 Scanning and BSS list handling (9)

the "who's out there and what do they want" section ✨

  • struct cfg80211_ssid(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_info(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_6ghz_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_scan_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_match_set(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sched_scan_plan(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_select_adjust(9)
  • struct cfg80211_sched_scan_request(9)
  • enum cfg80211_signal_type(9)
  • struct cfg80211_inform_bss(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_ies(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss(9)
  • ieee80211_bss_get_elem(9)
  • ieee80211_bss_get_ie(9)
  • struct cfg80211_auth_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_assoc_link(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ml_reconf_req(9)
  • enum cfg80211_assoc_req_flags(9)
  • struct cfg80211_assoc_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_deauth_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_disassoc_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ibss_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_bss_selection(9)
  • struct cfg80211_connect_params(9)
  • enum cfg80211_connect_params_changed(9)
  • enum wiphy_params_flags(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmksa(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pkt_pattern(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_tcp(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan(9)
  • struct cfg80211_coalesce_rules(9)
  • struct cfg80211_coalesce(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_nd_match(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_nd_info(9)
  • struct cfg80211_wowlan_wakeup(9)
  • struct cfg80211_gtk_rekey_data(9)
  • struct cfg80211_update_ft_ies_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_mgmt_tx_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_dscp_exception(9)
  • struct cfg80211_dscp_range(9)
  • struct cfg80211_qos_map(9)

🦋 Neighbor Awareness Networking (NAN)(9)

the whole NAN arc, it's giving niche but iconic 👑

  • struct cfg80211_nan_band_config(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_conf(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_channel(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_local_sched(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_peer_map(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_peer_sched(9)
  • enum cfg80211_nan_conf_changes(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_func_filter(9)
  • struct cfg80211_nan_func(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmk_conf(9)
  • struct cfg80211_external_auth_params(9)
  • struct cfg80211_ftm_responder_stats(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_ftm_result(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_result(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_ftm_request_peer(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_request_peer(9)
  • struct cfg80211_pmsr_request(9)
  • struct cfg80211_update_owe_info(9)
  • struct mgmt_frame_regs(9)

👑 the wiphy / driver-ops saga

this is the big one, main character energy fr 🔥

🧚 Utility functions (9)

the little helpers that carry the whole team, lowkey underrated 💜

🍓 Data path helpers (9)

packets go brrr 💀

🌈 Regulatory enforcement infrastructure (9)

the rules™ section, respect it 😤

🔒 Internal regulatory db functions (9)

🌸 the "everything else in the notification life" pile

genuinely huge, but every single one matters bestie 😭

📶 RFkill integration (9)

💅 Vendor commands (9)

yes this is the family this very page belongs to, hi bestie 🫶

🧪 Test mode (9)

🎀 connection & management drama

the "did we connect or not" saga, honestly gripping 😭

ngl that's a lot of links, but that's the whole commit-adjacent family and we don't skip a single one here 💖

…and the rest of the extended fam, because the SEE ALSO list on this page is long long — like, keep-scrolling long, bestie 🫶

Okay so that's genuinely everybody — and that's a wrap on this whole page, bestie 🎀 You made it to the end of a three-part man page and I'm so proud, no cap 💅

Tiny receipts, because credit is cute: this guy lives under ./include/net, it's the October 2026 edition of cfg80211_vendor_event_alloc(9), and that's the whole vibe check. Now go forth and allocate your events responsibly ✨🦋🌸

📦 where this page comes from