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CVE-2025-38116 (GCVE-0-2025-38116)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2025-07-03 08:35 – Updated: 2026-08-05 11:59
VLAI
Title
wifi: ath12k: fix uaf in ath12k_core_init()
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath12k: fix uaf in ath12k_core_init() When the execution of ath12k_core_hw_group_assign() or ath12k_core_hw_group_create() fails, the registered notifier chain is not unregistered properly. Its memory is freed after rmmod, which may trigger to a use-after-free (UAF) issue if there is a subsequent access to this notifier chain. Fixes the issue by calling ath12k_core_panic_notifier_unregister() in failure cases. Call trace: notifier_chain_register+0x4c/0x1f0 (P) atomic_notifier_chain_register+0x38/0x68 ath12k_core_init+0x50/0x4e8 [ath12k] ath12k_pci_probe+0x5f8/0xc28 [ath12k] pci_device_probe+0xbc/0x1a8 really_probe+0xc8/0x3a0 __driver_probe_device+0x84/0x1b0 driver_probe_device+0x44/0x130 __driver_attach+0xcc/0x208 bus_for_each_dev+0x84/0x100 driver_attach+0x2c/0x40 bus_add_driver+0x130/0x260 driver_register+0x70/0x138 __pci_register_driver+0x68/0x80 ath12k_pci_init+0x30/0x68 [ath12k] ath12k_init+0x28/0x78 [ath12k] Tested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.0.c5-00481-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-3
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 6f245ea0ec6c29b90c8fa4fdf6e178c646125d7e , < 65e1b3404c211dcfaea02698539cdcd26647130f (git)
Affected: 6f245ea0ec6c29b90c8fa4fdf6e178c646125d7e , < f3fe49dbddd73f0155a8935af47cb63693069dbe (git)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Linux Linux Affected: 6.14
Unaffected: 0 , < 6.14 (semver)
Unaffected: 6.15.3 , ≤ 6.15.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.16 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Show details on NVD website
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            "version": "3.1"
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              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:L - The dangling `notifier_block` is created solely in the ath12k PCI/AHB probe path, entered locally via `finit_module()`, a sysfs `bind` write, or unattended boot-time device probe, and the UAF is consumed by local `panic_notifier_list` traversal or an in-kernel panic. No over-the-air WiFi frame or remote peer data reaches `ath12k_core_init()`, which runs entirely before the radio is registered.\nAC:L - Once `ath12k_core_hw_group_assign()` or `ath12k_core_hw_group_create()` fails \u2014 deterministic on any machine whose ath12k amss.bin/board-2.bin is missing or mismatched, since `ath12k_mhi_start()` then fails on every probe \u2014 the freed `\u0026ab-\u003epanic_nb` is guaranteed to remain linked, with no race, timing window, or memory-layout condition to win, and repeated PCI bind/unbind plants additional dangling entries.\nPR:L - The vulnerable state is established by an unattended boot-time probe failure that requires no privileges at all; from there an ordinary unprivileged local user can reclaim the freed `struct ath12k_base` slab with sprayed data and have the stale entry walked or invoked, so no capability beyond a normal local account is needed to exploit it.\nUI:N - No action by any other user is required \u2014 the probe failure occurs automatically during boot or driver bind, and the subsequent notifier-chain traversal or panic dispatch happens without victim involvement.\nS:U - Both the freed object and the corrupted `panic_notifier_list` live in the kernel\u0027s own address space and security authority; no hypervisor, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.\nC:H - `notifier_chain_register()` dereferences `(*nl)-\u003epriority` and `(*nl)-\u003enext` out of the freed `ath12k_base`, and `ath12k_core_panic_handler()` reads `ab-\u003ehif.ops` from it, so an attacker who reclaims the slab obtains a use-after-free read primitive over kernel memory and leaks kernel pointers.\nI:H - `rcu_assign_pointer(*nl, n)` in `notifier_chain_register()` writes a kernel pointer directly into the freed (and therefore attacker-reclaimable) allocation, and the panic path performs an indirect call through `nb-\u003enotifier_call` plus `ab-\u003ehif.ops-\u003epanic_handler` read from that same freed memory \u2014 a control-flow hijack primitive.\nA:H - The reported call trace is a kernel oops inside `notifier_chain_register()` on the stale entry, and any panic afterwards dereferences freed memory while dispatching the panic notifiers, crashing the machine and defeating kdump/crash reporting."
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        {
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            "lang": "en",
            "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath12k: fix uaf in ath12k_core_init()\n\nWhen the execution of ath12k_core_hw_group_assign() or\nath12k_core_hw_group_create() fails, the registered notifier chain is not\nunregistered properly. Its memory is freed after rmmod, which may trigger\nto a use-after-free (UAF) issue if there is a subsequent access to this\nnotifier chain.\n\nFixes the issue by calling ath12k_core_panic_notifier_unregister() in\nfailure cases.\n\nCall trace:\n notifier_chain_register+0x4c/0x1f0 (P)\n atomic_notifier_chain_register+0x38/0x68\n ath12k_core_init+0x50/0x4e8 [ath12k]\n ath12k_pci_probe+0x5f8/0xc28 [ath12k]\n pci_device_probe+0xbc/0x1a8\n really_probe+0xc8/0x3a0\n __driver_probe_device+0x84/0x1b0\n driver_probe_device+0x44/0x130\n __driver_attach+0xcc/0x208\n bus_for_each_dev+0x84/0x100\n driver_attach+0x2c/0x40\n bus_add_driver+0x130/0x260\n driver_register+0x70/0x138\n __pci_register_driver+0x68/0x80\n ath12k_pci_init+0x30/0x68 [ath12k]\n ath12k_init+0x28/0x78 [ath12k]\n\nTested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.0.c5-00481-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-3"
          },
          {
            "lang": "es",
            "value": "En el kernel de Linux, se ha resuelto la siguiente vulnerabilidad: wifi: ath12k: correcci\u00f3n de uaf en ath12k_core_init(). Cuando falla la ejecuci\u00f3n de ath12k_core_hw_group_assign() o ath12k_core_hw_group_create(), la cadena de notificadores registrada no se desregistra correctamente. Su memoria se libera despu\u00e9s de rmmod, lo que puede generar un problema de use-after-free (UAF) si se accede posteriormente a esta cadena de notificadores. Se soluciona el problema llamando a ath12k_core_panic_notifier_unregister() en caso de fallo. Rastreo de llamadas: notifier_chain_register+0x4c/0x1f0 (P) atomic_notifier_chain_register+0x38/0x68 ath12k_core_init+0x50/0x4e8 [ath12k] ath12k_pci_probe+0x5f8/0xc28 [ath12k] pci_device_probe+0xbc/0x1a8 really_probe+0xc8/0x3a0 __driver_probe_device+0x84/0x1b0 driver_probe_device+0x44/0x130 __driver_attach+0xcc/0x208 bus_for_each_dev+0x84/0x100 driver_attach+0x2c/0x40 bus_add_driver+0x130/0x260 driver_register+0x70/0x138 __pci_register_driver+0x68/0x80 ath12k_pci_init+0x30/0x68 [ath12k] ath12k_init+0x28/0x78 [ath12k] Tested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.0.c5-00481-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-3 "
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2025-38116",
        "lastModified": "2026-07-30T06:22:52.253",
        "metrics": {
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              "cvssData": {
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                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
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                "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
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                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
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        "references": [
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            "tags": [
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        "vulnStatus": "Modified",
        "weaknesses": [
          {
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              {
                "lang": "en",
                "value": "CWE-416"
              }
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            "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
            "type": "Primary"
          }
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    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-07-30T09:18:37+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2025-38116",
      "id": "CVE-2025-38116",
      "initial_release_date": "2025-07-03T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:fixed": "612",
      "product_status:known_affected": "22",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "90",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: wifi: ath12k: fix uaf in ath12k_core_init()",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2025/cve-2025-38116.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

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Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
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  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.


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Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.