CVE-2025-38316

Local kernel crash via premature phy dereference

Published Jul 10, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.14 through 6.15.2 allows local users to crash the system by enabling mt7996 monitor mode. The mt7996_set_monitor function reads phy->mt76 before main.c checks whether phy is NULL. Triggering requires local privileged control of monitor mode and compatible MediaTek mt7996 wireless hardware; the documented consequence is a kernel crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.13%
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 6.14 through 6.15.2 allows local users to crash the system by enabling mt7996 monitor mode. The mt7996_set_monitor function reads phy->mt76 before main.c checks whether phy is NULL. Triggering requires local privileged control of monitor mode and compatible MediaTek mt7996 wireless hardware; the documented consequence is a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38316
Published
Jul 10, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 10, 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=6.14
  2. Affected versionversion=69d54ce7491d046eaae05de7fb2493319a481991 <83a422c8169eef95aef57f7ddc467bb126d9ae81
  3. Affected versionversion=69d54ce7491d046eaae05de7fb2493319a481991 <cb423ddad0f6e6f55b1700422ab777b25597cc83

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.14; version=69d54ce7491d046eaae05de7fb2493319a481991 <83a422c8169eef95aef57f7ddc467bb126d9ae81; version=69d54ce7491d046eaae05de7fb2493319a481991 <cb423ddad0f6e6f55b1700422ab777b25597cc83

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS: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
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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