Linux Kernel up to 6.12.62/6.17.12/6.18.1 wifi ath11k_wmi_send_peer_assoc_cmd rx_mcs_set denial of service

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.62/6.17.12/6.18.1. This affects the function ath11k_wmi_send_peer_assoc_cmd of the component wifi. Such manipulation of the argument rx_mcs_set leads to denial of service. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-68380. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.62/6.17.12/6.18.1. It has been rated as critical. Affected by this issue is the function ath11k_wmi_send_peer_assoc_cmd of the component wifi. The manipulation of the argument rx_mcs_set with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. Impacted is availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath11k: fix peer HE MCS assignment In ath11k_wmi_send_peer_assoc_cmd(), peer's transmit MCS is sent to firmware as receive MCS while peer's receive MCS sent as transmit MCS, which goes against firmwire's definition. While connecting to a misbehaved AP that advertises 0xffff (meaning not supported) for 160 MHz transmit MCS map, firmware crashes due to 0xffff is assigned to he_mcs->rx_mcs_set field. Ext Tag: HE Capabilities [...] Supported HE-MCS and NSS Set [...] Rx and Tx MCS Maps 160 MHz [...] Tx HE-MCS Map 160 MHz: 0xffff Swap the assignment to fix this issue. As the HE rate control mask is meant to limit our own transmit MCS, it needs to go via he_mcs->rx_mcs_set field. With the aforementioned swapping done, change is needed as well to apply it to the peer's receive MCS. Tested-on: WCN6855 hw2.1 PCI WLAN.HSP.1.1-03125-QCAHSPSWPL_V1_V2_SILICONZ_LITE-3.6510.41 Tested-on: QCN9274 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.WBE.1.4.1-00199-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-68380 since 12/16/2025. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 279798 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-68380), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.63, 6.17.13, 6.18.2 or 6.19-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 097c870b91817779e5a312c6539099a884b1fe2b/381096a417b7019896e93e86f4c585c592bf98e2/6b1a0da75932353f66e710976ca85a7131f647ff/4a013ca2d490c73c40588d62712ffaa432046a04 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 (279798), EUVD (EUVD-2025-205074) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2920). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.17.0
• 6.17.1
• 6.17.2
• 6.17.3
• 6.17.4
• 6.17.5
• 6.17.6
• 6.17.7
• 6.17.8
• 6.17.9
• 6.17.10
• 6.17.11
• 6.17.12
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

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