CVE-2025-38646
NoneCVSS
—
EPSS
0.2%
Published
Aug 22, 2025
CISA due date
—
Cloudanix analysis
A rare bug in certain Linux wireless drivers can cause the whole computer to crash when it receives unexpected network data on a frequency the hardware does not actually support.
- Exploitation
- Remote Unauthenticated
- Attacker needs
- None
- Complexity
- Low
- Impact
- Denial Of Service
- Component
- OS kernel
- Class
- Memory Corruption
- Remediation
- Patch
- Effort
- Medium
- Patch risk
- Low
What it actually does
NULL pointer dereference in rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter leading to kernel crash when RX report indicates 6 GHz band on hardware that does not support it, due to uninitialized structures for unsupported bands.
Why it matters to the business
System crashes and reboots on affected Linux devices with rtw89 wifi hardware, causing downtime and potential loss of connectivity; low exploitation likelihood but high impact on stability in wireless environments.
How an attack unfolds
An attacker crafts or triggers a problematic RX report packet that tricks the driver into believing a 6 GHz frame was received; the subsequent call chain through mac80211 iteration reaches rtw89_core_cancel_6ghz_probe_tx on an uninitialized vif, dereferencing a NULL pointer and crashing the kernel.
How to fix it
Apply the upstream fix from commit 892b29eab44b1803d2cad8e50f1bc2144ef478cb or later stable kernels; update to a kernel release containing the added 6 GHz band support check before rtw89_core_cancel_6ghz_probe_tx.
How to confirm the fix worked
Verify the presence of the band-support guard in rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter source or confirm kernel version includes commit 892b29eab44b1803d2cad8e50f1bc2144ef478cb; test with crafted RX reports on 6 GHz to ensure no crash occurs.
Typical attack path
- Send or induce malformed RX report for 6 GHz band on unsupported rtw89 hardware
- Driver processes report without band support checks
- rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter dereferences uninitialized pointer
- Kernel NULL pointer dereference triggers oops and potential panic
How to detect it
Search kernel logs and dmesg for oops messages containing rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter, address 0000000000000032, and calls from __iterate_interfaces or rtw89_core_rx; correlate with irq/ context for rtw89_p and mac80211 iteration.
- rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter+0xd2/0x310
- BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000032
- CR2: 0000000000000032
- rtw89_core_cancel_6ghz_probe_tx
- irq/131-rtw89_p
What your security team should do
- Prioritize kernel updates on all systems using rtw89 wifi drivers
- Monitor kernel logs for rtw89-related NULL dereference oops
- Disable 6 GHz operation if hardware lacks support until patched
- Apply updates within standard maintenance windows given low EPSS
The record
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rtw89: avoid NULL dereference when RX problematic packet on unsupported 6 GHz band With a quite rare chance, RX report might be problematic to make SW think a packet is received on 6 GHz band even if the chip does not support 6 GHz band actually. Since SW won't initialize stuffs for unsupported bands, NULL dereference will happen then in the sequence, rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter() -> rtw89_core_cancel_6ghz_probe_tx(). So, add a check to avoid it. The following is a crash log for this case. BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000032 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI CPU: 1 PID: 1907 Comm: irq/131-rtw89_p Tainted: G U 6.6.56-05896-g89f5fb0eb30b #1 (HASH:1400 4) Hardware name: Google Telith/Telith, BIOS Google_Telith.15217.747.0 11/12/2024 RIP: 0010:rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter+0xd2/0x310 [rtw89_core] Code: 4c 89 7d c8 48 89 55 c0 49 8d 44 24 02 48 89 45 b8 45 31 ff eb 11 41 c6 45 3a 01 41 b7 01 4d 8b 6d 00 4d 39 f5 74 42 8b 43 10 <41> 33 45 32 0f b7 4b 14 66 41 33 4d 36 0f b7 c9 09 c1 74 d8 4d 85 RSP: 0018:ffff9f3080138ca0 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 00000000b8bf5770 RBX: ffff91b5e8c639c0 RCX: 0000000000000011 RDX: ffff91b582de1be8 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffff91b5e8c639e6 RBP: ffff9f3080138d00 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: ffff91b59de70000 R11: ffffffffc069be50 R12: ffff91b5e8c639e4 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: ffff91b5828020b8 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff91b8efa40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000032 CR3: 00000002bf838000 CR4: 0000000000750ee0 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <IRQ> ? __die_body+0x68/0xb0 ? page_fault_oops+0x379/0x3e0 ? exc_page_fault+0x4f/0xa0 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30 ? __pfx_rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter+0x10/0x10 [rtw89_core (HASH:1400 5)] ? rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter+0xd2/0x310 [rtw89_core (HASH:1400 5)] __iterate_interfaces+0x59/0x110 [mac80211 (HASH:1400 6)] ? __pfx_rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter+0x10/0x10 [rtw89_core (HASH:1400 5)] ? __pfx_rtw89_vif_rx_stats_iter+0x10/0x10 [rtw89_core (HASH:1400 5)] ieee80211_iterate_active_interfaces_atomic+0x36/0x50 [mac80211 (HASH:1400 6)] rtw89_core_rx_to_mac80211+0xfd/0x1b0 [rtw89_core (HASH:1400 5)] rtw89_core_rx+0x43a/0x980 [rtw89_core (HASH:1400 5)]
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Introduced | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:13 | linux | 0 | No fix |
| Debian:14 | linux | 0 | No fix |
| Debian:14 | linux | 0 | 6.16.3-1 |
| Linux | Kernel | 6.4.0 | 6.6.102 |
| Mageia:9 | kernel | 0 | 6.6.105-1.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kernel-linus | 0 | 6.6.105-1.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kmod-virtualbox | 0 | 7.1.10-10.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kmod-xtables-addons | 0 | 3.24-86.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | mageia-repos | 0 | 9-4.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | meta-task | 0 | 9-4.mga9 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_15 | 0 | 1-150600.1.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_15 | 0 | 1-150600.13.3.2 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1.150600.12.30.2 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.52.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.52.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.52.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.52.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.52.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.52.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.52.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.52.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1.150600.12.30.2 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-kvmsmall | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-qa | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.52.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.52.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.52.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.52.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.52.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.52.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.70.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | dtb-aarch64 | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-kvmsmall | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-obs-qa | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1 |
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