CVE-2025-38420 Details
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: carl9170: do not ping device which has failed to load firmware Syzkaller reports [1, 2] crashes caused by an attempts to ping the device which has failed to load firmware. Since such a device doesn't pass 'ieee80211_register_hw()', an internal workqueue managed by 'ieee80211_queue_work()' is not yet created and an attempt to queue work on it causes null-ptr-deref. [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=9a4aec827829942045ff [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=0d8afba53e8fb2633217
A null pointer dereference vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel's WiFi subsystem, specifically within the carl9170 driver. This issue arises when the system attempts to ping a device that has failed to load its firmware. Such a device does not complete the hardware registration process, which means an internal work queue is not yet available. As a result, any attempt to queue work for the device leads to a null pointer dereference, causing a crash.
Metrics
CVSS 4.0 Severity and Vector Strings:
No CVSS 4.0 data is available for this CVE.
CVSS 3.x Severity and Vector Strings:
No data available for CVSS Version 2.0 on this CVE.
No SSVC data is available for this CVE.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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| URL | Source(s) | Tag(s) |
|---|---|---|
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0140d3d37f0f1759d1fdedd854c7875a86e15f8d | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11ef72b3312752c2ff92f3c1e64912be3228ed36 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/15d25307692312cec4b57052da73387f91a2e870 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/301268dbaac8e9013719e162a000202eac8054be | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e9ab5c48ad5153cc908dd29abad0cd2a92951e4 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/527fad1ae32ffa2d4853a1425fe1c8dbb8c9744c | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a3734a6f4c05fd24605148f21fb2066690d61b3 | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bfeede26e97ce4a15a0b961118de4a0e28c9907a | kernel.org | Patch |
| https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html | CVE | Mailing ListThird Party Advisory |
| https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html | CVE | Mailing ListThird Party Advisory |
Weakness Enumeration
| CWE-ID | CWE Name | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CWE-476 | NULL Pointer Dereference | [email protected] |
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
| linux linux kernel | >= 2.6.38, < 5.4.295 >= 5.5, < 5.10.239 >= 5.11, < 5.15.186 >= 5.16, < 6.1.142 >= 6.2, < 6.6.95 >= 6.7, < 6.12.35 >= 6.13, < 6.15.4 6.16 rc1 6.16 rc2 |
CPE
Remediation
| |
| debian debian linux | 11.0 |
CPE
Remediation
| |
Change History
4 change records found show changes
| Date | Action | Recorded By |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2026 | CVE Modified | kernel.org |
| Dec 23, 2025 | Initial Analysis | [email protected] |
| Nov 3, 2025 | CVE Modified | CVE |
| Jul 25, 2025 | New CVE Received | kernel.org |