Linux Kernel up to 6.17.12/6.18.1 wifi ath12k_hal_desc_reo_parse_err buffer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as critical has been identified in Linux Kernel up to 6.17.12/6.18.1. This affects the function ath12k_hal_desc_reo_parse_err of the component wifi. Such manipulation leads to buffer overflow. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-68729. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.17.12/6.18.1 and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is the function ath12k_hal_desc_reo_parse_err of the component wifi. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-120. The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath12k: Fix MSDU buffer types handling in RX error path Currently, packets received on the REO exception ring from unassociated peers are of MSDU buffer type, while the driver expects link descriptor type packets. These packets are not parsed further due to a return check on packet type in ath12k_hal_desc_reo_parse_err(), but the associated skb is not freed. This may lead to kernel crashes and buffer leaks. Hence to fix, update the RX error handler to explicitly drop MSDU buffer type packets received on the REO exception ring. This prevents further processing of invalid packets and ensures stability in the RX error handling path. 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-2025-68729 since 12/24/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 12/28/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 279834 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-68729), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.17.13, 6.18.2 or 6.19-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 5ff5a9d71cdc49c3400f30583a784ad0a17d01ec/ab0554f51e5f2b9506e8a09e8accd02f00056729/36f9edbb9d0fc36c865c74f3c1ad8e1261ad3981 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 (279834) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2920). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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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