Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc2 wifi stack-based overflow

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6.6	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc2. This impacts an unknown function of the component wifi. The manipulation leads to stack-based overflow. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2025-38406. No exploit is available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc2. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects some unknown processing of the component wifi. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a stack-based overflow vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-121. A stack-based buffer overflow condition is a condition where the buffer being overwritten is allocated on the stack (i.e., is a local variable or, rarely, a parameter to a function). Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath6kl: remove WARN on bad firmware input If the firmware gives bad input, that's nothing to do with the driver's stack at this point etc., so the WARN_ON() doesn't add any value. Additionally, this is one of the top syzbot reports now. Just print a message, and as an added bonus, print the sizes too.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-38406 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/03/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 265954 (Ubuntu 20.04 LTS : Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities (USN-7776-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.4.296, 5.10.240, 5.15.187, 6.1.144, 6.6.97, 6.12.37, 6.15.6 or 6.16-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 7a2afdc5af3b82b601f6a2f0d1c90d5f0bc27aeb/e6c49f0b203a987c306676d241066451b74db1a5/46b47d4b06fa7f234d93f0f8ac43798feafcff89/89bd133529a4d2d68287128b357e49adc00ec690/347827bd0c5680dac2dd59674616840c4d5154f1/327997afbb5e62532c28c1861ab5534c01969c9a/27d07deea35ae67f2e75913242e25bdb7e1114e5/e7417421d89358da071fd2930f91e67c7128fbff is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (265954) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1653). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Avamar
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.4.295
• 5.10.239
• 5.15.186
• 6.1.143
• 6.6.0
• 6.6.1
• 6.6.2
• 6.6.3
• 6.6.4
• 6.6.5
• 6.6.6
• 6.6.7
• 6.6.8
• 6.6.9
• 6.6.10
• 6.6.11
• 6.6.12
• 6.6.13
• 6.6.14
• 6.6.15
• 6.6.16
• 6.6.17
• 6.6.18
• 6.6.19
• 6.6.20
• 6.6.21
• 6.6.22
• 6.6.23
• 6.6.24
• 6.6.25
• 6.6.26
• 6.6.27
• 6.6.28
• 6.6.29
• 6.6.30
• 6.6.31
• 6.6.32
• 6.6.33
• 6.6.34
• 6.6.35
• 6.6.36
• 6.6.37
• 6.6.38
• 6.6.39
• 6.6.40
• 6.6.41
• 6.6.42
• 6.6.43
• 6.6.44
• 6.6.45
• 6.6.46
• 6.6.47
• 6.6.48
• 6.6.49
• 6.6.50
• 6.6.51
• 6.6.52
• 6.6.53
• 6.6.54
• 6.6.55
• 6.6.56
• 6.6.57
• 6.6.58
• 6.6.59
• 6.6.60
• 6.6.61
• 6.6.62
• 6.6.63
• 6.6.64
• 6.6.65
• 6.6.66
• 6.6.67
• 6.6.68
• 6.6.69
• 6.6.70
• 6.6.71
• 6.6.72
• 6.6.73
• 6.6.74
• 6.6.75
• 6.6.76
• 6.6.77
• 6.6.78
• 6.6.79
• 6.6.80
• 6.6.81
• 6.6.82
• 6.6.83
• 6.6.84
• 6.6.85
• 6.6.86
• 6.6.87
• 6.6.88
• 6.6.89
• 6.6.90
• 6.6.91
• 6.6.92
• 6.6.93
• 6.6.94
• 6.6.95
• 6.6.96
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.15.0
• 6.15.1
• 6.15.2
• 6.15.3
• 6.15.4
• 6.15.5
• 6.16-rc1
• 6.16-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.6

VulDB Base Score: 8.0
VulDB Temp Score: 7.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Stack-based overflow
CWE: CWE-121 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 265954
Nessus Name: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS : Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities (USN-7776-1)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.4.296/5.10.240/5.15.187/6.1.144/6.6.97/6.12.37/6.15.6/6.16-rc3
Patch: 7a2afdc5af3b82b601f6a2f0d1c90d5f0bc27aeb/e6c49f0b203a987c306676d241066451b74db1a5/46b47d4b06fa7f234d93f0f8ac43798feafcff89/89bd133529a4d2d68287128b357e49adc00ec690/347827bd0c5680dac2dd59674616840c4d5154f1/327997afbb5e62532c28c1861ab5534c01969c9a/27d07deea35ae67f2e75913242e25bdb7e1114e5/e7417421d89358da071fd2930f91e67c7128fbff

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
07/25/2025 +100 days Advisory disclosed
07/25/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
01/03/2026 +162 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-38406 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-38406
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-317645
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1653 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 07/25/2025 15:39
Updated: 01/03/2026 19:53
Changes: 07/25/2025 15:39 (58), 08/20/2025 18:10 (7), 09/14/2025 18:38 (1), 09/16/2025 00:13 (1), 09/27/2025 00:35 (2), 09/28/2025 22:02 (1), 11/02/2025 10:14 (1), 11/17/2025 01:47 (1), 12/24/2025 06:17 (12), 01/03/2026 19:53 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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