CVE-2025-37944

What it actually does

Incorrect use of source-ring fetch function on destination ring in ath12k monitor processing causes invalid pointer arithmetic and memory accesses, leading to data corruption or kernel crashes.

Why it matters to the business

Wireless driver instability on affected Linux systems can cause system crashes, loss of Wi-Fi connectivity, and potential kernel-level compromise on servers, desktops, and cloud instances using the impacted Ubuntu kernels.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local or remote access that can trigger monitor ring processing (for example via crafted 802.11 frames) forces the driver to call the wrong ring helper, resulting in out-of-bounds reads/writes that an advanced spyware or privilege-escalation campaign could weaponize for kernel memory corruption.

How to fix it

Upgrade to a fixed kernel package version for each affected Ubuntu release: linux 3.11.0-12.19 (14.04), 4.4.0-2.16 (16.04), 4.13.0-16.19 (18.04), 5.4.0-9.12 (20.04) and the corresponding -aws, -azure, -gcp, -hwe, -kvm, -oracle variants listed in the fixed_versions field.

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify running kernel version matches or exceeds the fixed package for the distribution release; confirm ath12k source uses ath12k_hal_srng_dst_get_next_entry; run regression tests that exercise monitor ring paths.

Typical attack path

1. Obtain local or wireless-adjacent access to a vulnerable system
2. Trigger ath12k monitor SRNG processing path
3. Invoke ath12k_hal_srng_src_get_next_entry on destination ring
4. Perform invalid pointer arithmetic and memory access
5. Achieve data corruption or kernel panic / code execution

How to detect it

Search kernel logs for ath12k oops, warnings referencing ath12k_dp_mon_srng_process or invalid ring entry fetches; inspect crash dumps for corrupted monitor ring pointers; correlate with wireless frame reception events.

• ath12k_dp_mon_srng_process
• ath12k_hal_srng_src_get_next_entry
• invalid entry fetch
• destination ring

What your security team should do

• Apply the listed fixed kernel packages immediately on all Ubuntu 14.04/16.04/18.04/20.04 systems using ath12k hardware
• Prioritize internet-facing and multi-tenant hosts given 526 days of public exposure
• Reboot after package installation to load corrected driver
• Monitor vendor advisories for additional backports to older LTS kernels