CVE-2025-37794

Kernel crash via stale mac80211 transmit queue

Published May 1, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel mac80211 from 4.1 allows local users to crash the kernel during interface shutdown. ieee80211_do_stop() clears vif.drv_priv without purging the interface transmit queue, so a concurrent wake can dequeue an older packet into ath12k with cleared driver state. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and a concurrent transmit-queue wake while the virtual interface is stopping; the demonstrated consequence is an ath12k driver crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel mac80211 from 4.1 allows local users to crash the kernel during interface shutdown. ieee80211_do_stop() clears vif.drv_priv without purging the interface transmit queue, so a concurrent wake can dequeue an older packet into ath12k with cleared driver state. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and a concurrent transmit-queue wake while the virtual interface is stopping; the demonstrated consequence is an ath12k driver crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-37794
Published
May 1, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 1, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.1
  2. Affected versionversion=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <305741e7e63234cbcf9b5c4e6aeca25ba0834be8
  3. Affected versionversion=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <378677eb8f44621ecc9ce659f7af61e5baa94d81
  4. Affected versionversion=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <5f6863dc407f25fcf23fc857f9ac51756a09ea2c
  5. Affected versionversion=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <8bc34db7f771a464ff8f686b6f8d4e04963fec27
  6. Affected versionversion=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <929ec2c9ad34248ef625e137b6118b6e965797d9
  7. Affected versionversion=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <a8df245b5b29f6de98d016dc18e2bb35ec70b0cb
  8. Affected versionversion=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <a932a5ce4eee0cbad20220f950fe7bd3534bcbc9
  9. Affected versionversion=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <c74b84544dee27298a71715b3ce2c40d372b5a23

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.1; version=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <305741e7e63234cbcf9b5c4e6aeca25ba0834be8; version=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <378677eb8f44621ecc9ce659f7af61e5baa94d81; version=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <5f6863dc407f25fcf23fc857f9ac51756a09ea2c; version=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <8bc34db7f771a464ff8f686b6f8d4e04963fec27; version=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <929ec2c9ad34248ef625e137b6118b6e965797d9; version=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <a8df245b5b29f6de98d016dc18e2bb35ec70b0cb; version=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <a932a5ce4eee0cbad20220f950fe7bd3534bcbc9; version=ba8c3d6f16a1f9305c23ac1d2fd3992508c5ac03 <c74b84544dee27298a71715b3ce2c40d372b5a23

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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