CVE-2025-38646: wifi: rtw89: avoid NULL dereference when RX problematic packet on unsupported 6 GHz band

Published Aug 22, 2025
·
Updated

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, rtw89vifrxstatsiter() -> rtw89corecancel6ghzprobetx(). 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: errorcode(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI CPU: 1 PID: 1907 Comm: irq/131-rtw89p Tainted: G U 6.6.56-05896-g89f5fb0eb30b #1 (HASH:1400 4) Hardware name: Google Telith/Telith, BIOS GoogleTelith.15217.747.0 11/12/2024 RIP: 0010:rtw89vifrxstatsiter+0xd2/0x310 [rtw89core] 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> ? diebody+0x68/0xb0 ? pagefaultoops+0x379/0x3e0 ? excpagefault+0x4f/0xa0 ? asmexcpagefault+0x22/0x30 ? pfxrtw89vifrxstatsiter+0x10/0x10 [rtw89core (HASH:1400 5)] ? rtw89vifrxstatsiter+0xd2/0x310 [rtw89core (HASH:1400 5)] iterateinterfaces+0x59/0x110 [mac80211 (HASH:1400 6)] ? pfxrtw89vifrxstatsiter+0x10/0x10 [rtw89core (HASH:1400 5)] ? pfxrtw89vifrxstatsiter+0x10/0x10 [rtw89core (HASH:1400 5)] ieee80211iterateactiveinterfacesatomic+0x36/0x50 [mac80211 (HASH:1400 6)] rtw89corerxtomac80211+0xfd/0x1b0 [rtw89core (HASH:1400 5)] rtw89corerx+0x43a/0x980 [rtw89core (HASH:1400 5)]

Affected Software

145 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Kernel
Linux Linux kernel>=6.4<6.6.102
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7<6.12.42
Linux Linux kernel>=6.13<6.15.10
Linux Linux kernel>=6.16<6.16.1
debian/linux<6.12.43-1
6.12.43-1
debian/linux<6.16.3-1
6.16.3-1
debian/linux
6.1.176-16.1.190-16.12.107-16.12.115-27.2.12-17.2.15-1
linux/kernel>=6.4.0<6.6.102
6.6.102
linux/kernel>=6.7.0<6.12.42
6.12.42
linux/kernel>=6.13.0<6.15.10
6.15.10
linux/kernel>=6.16.0<6.16.1
6.16.1
ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.0*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-azure*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-azure-edge*
ubuntu/linux-gcp*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-gke-4.15*
ubuntu/linux-gke-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.4*
ubuntu/linux-hwe*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge*
ubuntu/linux-oem*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.0*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.3*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-gke*
ubuntu/linux-gke-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop*
ubuntu/linux-gkeop-5.15*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-intel-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.10*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.6*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.13*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-raspi2*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.11*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.8*
ubuntu/linux-allwinner-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8<6.8.0-1046.49~22.04.1
6.8.0-1046.49~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8<6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1
6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8<6.8.0-1046.53~22.04.1
6.8.0-1046.53~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8<6.8.0-1047.50~22.04.2
6.8.0-1047.50~22.04.2
ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-100.100~22.04.1
6.8.0-100.100~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8<6.8.0-1044.44~22.04.1
6.8.0-1044.44~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-intel-iot-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8<6.8.0-100.100.1~22.04.1
6.8.0-100.100.1~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8<6.8.0-1046.49~22.04.1
6.8.0-1046.49~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-oem-5.17*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.0*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.1*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8<6.8.0-1043.44~22.04.1
6.8.0-1043.44~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8<6.8.0-100.100~22.04.1
6.8.0-100.100~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux-starfive-5.19*
ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.2*
ubuntu/linux-starfive-6.5*
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8<6.8.1-1041.42~22.04.1
6.8.1-1041.42~22.04.1
ubuntu/linux<6.8.0-100.100
6.8.0-100.100
ubuntu/linux-aws<6.8.0-1046.49
6.8.0-1046.49
ubuntu/linux-aws-6.14<6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure<6.8.0-1046.52
6.8.0-1046.52
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-azure-6.14<6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde<6.8.0-1046.53
6.8.0-1046.53
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia<6.8.0-1039.42
6.8.0-1039.42
ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia-6.14*
ubuntu/linux-gcp<6.8.0-1047.50
6.8.0-1047.50
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.14<6.14.0-1020.21~24.04.1
6.14.0-1020.21~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-gke<6.8.0-1043.48
6.8.0-1043.48
ubuntu/linux-gkeop<6.8.0-1030.33
6.8.0-1030.33
ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-ibm<6.8.0-1044.44
6.8.0-1044.44
ubuntu/linux-intel*
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency<6.8.0-100.100.1
6.8.0-100.100.1
ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia<6.8.0-1046.49
6.8.0-1046.49
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency<6.8.0-1046.49.1
6.8.0-1046.49.1
ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra<6.8.0-1020.20
6.8.0-1020.20
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.11*
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.14<6.14.0-1016.16
6.14.0-1016.16
ubuntu/linux-oem-6.8*
ubuntu/linux-oracle<6.8.0-1043.44
6.8.0-1043.44
ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.14<6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-raspi<6.8.0-1047.51
6.8.0-1047.51
ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-realtime*
ubuntu/linux-riscv*
ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.14<6.14.0-36.36.1~24.04.1
6.14.0-36.36.1~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-xilinx<6.8.0-1023.24
6.8.0-1023.24
ubuntu/linux-bluefield<6.8.0-1016.20
6.8.0-1016.20
ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime<6.8.0-2037.38
6.8.0-2037.38
ubuntu/linux-realtime<6.8.1-1041.42
6.8.1-1041.42
ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.14<6.14.0-1016.16~24.04.1
6.14.0-1016.16~24.04.1
ubuntu/linux-aws-fips<6.8.0-1046.49+fips1
6.8.0-1046.49+fips1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fips<6.8.0-1046.52+fips1
6.8.0-1046.52+fips1
ubuntu/linux-fips<6.8.0-100.100+fips1
6.8.0-100.100+fips1
ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips<6.8.0-1047.50+fips1
6.8.0-1047.50+fips1
ubuntu/linux-azure-fde*
ubuntu/linux-vmware*

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.12.43-1
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.16.3-1
  3. Upgrade

    Upgrade debian/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.1.176-1Fixed in 6.1.190-1Fixed in 6.12.107-1Fixed in 6.12.115-2Fixed in 7.2.12-1Fixed in 7.2.15-1
  4. Upgrade

    Upgrade linux/Kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.6.102
  5. Upgrade

    Upgrade linux/Kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.12.42
  6. Upgrade

    Upgrade linux/Kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.15.10
  7. Upgrade

    Upgrade linux/Kernel to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.16.1
  8. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.49~22.04.1
  9. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1
  10. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.53~22.04.1
  11. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1047.50~22.04.2
  12. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-100.100~22.04.1
  13. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1044.44~22.04.1
  14. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-100.100.1~22.04.1
  15. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.49~22.04.1
  16. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1043.44~22.04.1
  17. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-100.100~22.04.1
  18. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.8 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.1-1041.42~22.04.1
  19. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-100.100
  20. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.49
  21. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-6.14 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
  22. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.52
  23. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-6.14 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
  24. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fde to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.53
  25. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-nvidia to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1039.42
  26. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1047.50
  27. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-6.14 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.14.0-1020.21~24.04.1
  28. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gke to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1043.48
  29. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gkeop to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1030.33
  30. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-ibm to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1044.44
  31. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-100.100.1
  32. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.49
  33. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-lowlatency to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.49.1
  34. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1020.20
  35. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oem-6.14 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.14.0-1016.16
  36. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1043.44
  37. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-oracle-6.14 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.14.0-1017.17~24.04.1
  38. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1047.51
  39. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-riscv-6.14 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.14.0-36.36.1~24.04.1
  40. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-xilinx to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1023.24
  41. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-bluefield to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1016.20
  42. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-raspi-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-2037.38
  43. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.1-1041.42
  44. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-realtime-6.14 to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.14.0-1016.16~24.04.1
  45. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-aws-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.49+fips1
  46. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-azure-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1046.52+fips1
  47. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-100.100+fips1
  48. Upgrade

    Upgrade ubuntu/linux-gcp-fips to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 6.8.0-1047.50+fips1

Event History

Aug 22, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·04:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·04:00 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via OSV·04:00 PM
DescriptionAffected Software
Data Sourced
via NVD·04:15 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Nov 11, 2026
Data Sourced
via OSV·09:39 AM
Severity

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-38646?

CVE-2025-38646 has been classified with a low severity rating due to the rare nature of its exploitation.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-38646?

To fix CVE-2025-38646, update your Linux kernel to the latest version where this vulnerability has been patched.

3

What software is affected by CVE-2025-38646?

CVE-2025-38646 affects the Linux Kernel specifically related to the wifi subsystem.

4

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2025-38646?

CVE-2025-38646 is a vulnerability that can lead to a NULL pointer dereference under specific conditions.

5

Is there a workaround for CVE-2025-38646?

There are no documented workarounds for CVE-2025-38646; upgrading the kernel is the recommended solution.

Company

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