CVE-2025-40321: wifi: brcmfmac: fix crash while sending Action Frames in standalone AP Mode

Published Dec 8, 2025
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

wifi: brcmfmac: fix crash while sending Action Frames in standalone AP Mode

Currently, whenever there is a need to transmit an Action frame, the brcmfmac driver always uses the P2P vif to send the "actframe" IOVAR to firmware. The P2P interfaces were available when wpasupplicant is managing the wlan interface.

However, the P2P interfaces are not created/initialized when only hostapd is managing the wlan interface. And if hostapd receives an ANQP Query REQ Action frame even from an un-associated STA, the brcmfmac driver tries to use an uninitialized P2P vif pointer for sending the IOVAR to firmware. This NULL pointer dereferencing triggers a driver crash.

[ 1417.074538] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000 [...] [ 1417.075188] Hardware name: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.5 (DT) [...] [ 1417.075653] Call trace: [ 1417.075662] brcmfp2psendactionframe+0x23c/0xc58 [brcmfmac] [ 1417.075738] brcmfcfg80211mgmttx+0x304/0x5c0 [brcmfmac] [ 1417.075810] cfg80211mlmemgmttx+0x1b0/0x428 [cfg80211] [ 1417.076067] nl80211txmgmt+0x238/0x388 [cfg80211] [ 1417.076281] genlfamilyrcvmsgdoit+0xe0/0x158 [ 1417.076302] genlrcvmsg+0x220/0x2a0 [ 1417.076317] netlinkrcvskb+0x68/0x140 [ 1417.076330] genlrcv+0x40/0x60 [ 1417.076343] netlinkunicast+0x330/0x3b8 [ 1417.076357] netlinksendmsg+0x19c/0x3f8 [ 1417.076370] socksendmsg+0x64/0xc0 [ 1417.076391] syssendmsg+0x268/0x2a0 [ 1417.076408] syssendmsg+0xb8/0x118 [ 1417.076427] syssendmsg+0x90/0xf8 [ 1417.076445] arm64syssendmsg+0x2c/0x40 [ 1417.076465] invokesyscall+0x50/0x120 [ 1417.076486] el0svccommon.constprop.0+0x48/0xf0 [ 1417.076506] doel0svc+0x24/0x38 [ 1417.076525] el0svc+0x30/0x100 [ 1417.076548] el0t64synchandler+0x100/0x130 [ 1417.076569] el0t64sync+0x190/0x198 [ 1417.076589] Code: f9401e80 aa1603e2 f9403be1 5280e483 (f9400000)

Fix this, by always using the vif corresponding to the wdev on which the Action frame Transmission request was initiated by the userspace. This way, even if P2P vif is not available, the IOVAR is sent to firmware on AP vif and the ANQP Query RESP Action frame is transmitted without crashing the driver.

Move initcompletion() for "sendafdone" from brcmfp2pcreatep2pdev() to brcmfp2pattach(). Because the former function would not get executed when only hostapd is managing wlan interface, and it is not safe to do reinitcompletion() later in brcmfp2ptxactionframe(), without any prior initcompletion().

And in the brcmfp2ptxactionframe() function, the condition check for P2P Presence response frame is not needed, since the wpasupplicant is properly sending the P2P Presense Response frame on the P2P-GO vif instead of the P2P-Device vif.

[Cc stable]

Affected Software

3 affected componentsFixes available
linux-kernel
Microsoft azl3 kernel 6.6.112.1-2
Microsoft azl3 kernel 6.6.112.1-2

Event History

Dec 8, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·12:46 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·12:46 AM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·01:16 AM
Description
Dec 9, 2025
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·01:02 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·01:02 AM
DescriptionSeverity

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-40321?

CVE-2025-40321 has been classified as a low-severity vulnerability affecting the brcmfmac driver in the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-40321?

To address CVE-2025-40321, update your Linux kernel to the latest version where the vulnerability has been patched.

3

What systems are affected by CVE-2025-40321?

CVE-2025-40321 affects systems running the Linux kernel with the brcmfmac driver, particularly those configured in standalone AP mode.

4

Can CVE-2025-40321 lead to denial of service?

Yes, CVE-2025-40321 can potentially lead to a denial of service condition by crashing the driver when sending Action frames.

5

Is CVE-2025-40321 exploit known?

As of now, there are no publicly reported exploitations of CVE-2025-40321.

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