Linux Kernel up to 6.15.9/6.16.0 P2P Interface ath12k_mac_handle_beacon_miss_iter uninitialized pointer

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4.9$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.15.9/6.16.0 and classified as problematic. Impacted is the function ath12k_mac_handle_beacon_miss_iter of the component P2P Interface. Performing a manipulation results in uninitialized pointer. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2025-38606. There is no exploit available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.15.9/6.16.0. This affects the function ath12k_mac_handle_beacon_miss_iter of the component P2P Interface. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a uninitialized pointer vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-824. The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath12k: Avoid accessing uninitialized arvif->ar during beacon miss During beacon miss handling, ath12k driver iterates over active virtual interfaces (vifs) and attempts to access the radio object (ar) via arvif->deflink->ar. However, after commit aa80f12f3bed ("wifi: ath12k: defer vdev creation for MLO"), arvif is linked to a radio only after vdev creation, typically when a channel is assigned or a scan is requested. For P2P capable devices, a default P2P interface is created by wpa_supplicant along with regular station interfaces, these serve as dummy interfaces for P2P-capable stations, lack an associated netdev and initiate frequent scans to discover neighbor p2p devices. When a scan is initiated on such P2P vifs, driver selects destination radio (ar) based on scan frequency, creates a scan vdev, and attaches arvif to the radio. Once the scan completes or is aborted, the scan vdev is deleted, detaching arvif from the radio and leaving arvif->ar uninitialized. While handling beacon miss for station interfaces, P2P interface is also encountered in the vif iteration and ath12k_mac_handle_beacon_miss_iter() tries to dereference the uninitialized arvif->deflink->ar. Fix this by verifying that vdev is created for the arvif before accessing its ar during beacon miss handling and similar vif iterator callbacks. ========================================================================== wlp6s0: detected beacon loss from AP (missed 7 beacons) - probing KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000010-0x0000000000000017] CPU: 5 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/5 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc1-wt-ath+ #2 PREEMPT(full) RIP: 0010:ath12k_mac_handle_beacon_miss_iter+0xb5/0x1a0 [ath12k] Call Trace: __iterate_interfaces+0x11a/0x410 [mac80211] ieee80211_iterate_active_interfaces_atomic+0x61/0x140 [mac80211] ath12k_mac_handle_beacon_miss+0xa1/0xf0 [ath12k] ath12k_roam_event+0x393/0x560 [ath12k] ath12k_wmi_op_rx+0x1486/0x28c0 [ath12k] ath12k_htc_process_trailer.isra.0+0x2fb/0x620 [ath12k] ath12k_htc_rx_completion_handler+0x448/0x830 [ath12k] ath12k_ce_recv_process_cb+0x549/0x9e0 [ath12k] ath12k_ce_per_engine_service+0xbe/0xf0 [ath12k] ath12k_pci_ce_workqueue+0x69/0x120 [ath12k] process_one_work+0xe3a/0x1430 Tested-on: QCN9274 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.WBE.1.4.1-00199-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1 Tested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.1.c5-00284.1-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-3

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-38606 since 04/16/2025. The exploitability is told to be difficult. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 260105 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38606), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.15.10, 6.16.1 or 6.17-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 9b861dfc5c07defd0191fd3e7288a3179cd9a02e/1259b6da8303f70fef6ed4aef8ae3dedfecb0f27/36670b67de18f1e5d34900c5d2ac60a8970c293c 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 (260105) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1869). 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
  • SUSE openSUSE
  • RESF Rocky Linux
  • Dell Avamar
  • Open Source Linux Kernel
  • Dell NetWorker
  • Dell Secure Connect Gateway
  • IBM QRadar SIEM

Productinfo

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Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.9

VulDB Base Score: 4.6
VulDB Temp Score: 4.4
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Uninitialized pointer
CWE: CWE-824 / CWE-908
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 260105
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38606

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.15.10/6.16.1/6.17-rc1
Patch: 9b861dfc5c07defd0191fd3e7288a3179cd9a02e/1259b6da8303f70fef6ed4aef8ae3dedfecb0f27/36670b67de18f1e5d34900c5d2ac60a8970c293c

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
08/19/2025 +125 days Advisory disclosed
08/19/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
01/16/2026 +150 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-38606 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-38606
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-320589
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1869 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 08/19/2025 19:24
Updated: 01/16/2026 08:34
Changes: 08/19/2025 19:24 (58), 09/01/2025 22:37 (2), 09/25/2025 06:20 (7), 10/27/2025 02:02 (1), 11/01/2025 15:26 (1), 11/26/2025 20:19 (12), 01/16/2026 08:34 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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