CVE-2025-38406Public exploit

Kernel warning via malformed ath6kl firmware response

Published Jul 25, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Improper input handling in the Linux kernel ath6kl driver allows local users to interrupt service via malformed firmware responses. The ath6kl_bmi_get_target_info function invokes WARN_ON when a firmware-supplied byte count differs from the target-info structure size. Reaching the warning requires local low-privileged access through an ath6kl device path, and it can panic a system configured to panic on kernel warnings.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper input handling in the Linux kernel ath6kl driver allows local users to interrupt service via malformed firmware responses. The ath6kl_bmi_get_target_info function invokes WARN_ON when a firmware-supplied byte count differs from the target-info structure size. Reaching the warning requires local low-privileged access through an ath6kl device path, and it can panic a system configured to panic on kernel warnings.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38406
Published
Jul 25, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 25, 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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=3.2
  2. Affected versionversion=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <27d07deea35ae67f2e75913242e25bdb7e1114e5
  3. Affected versionversion=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <327997afbb5e62532c28c1861ab5534c01969c9a
  4. Affected versionversion=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <347827bd0c5680dac2dd59674616840c4d5154f1
  5. Affected versionversion=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <46b47d4b06fa7f234d93f0f8ac43798feafcff89
  6. Affected versionversion=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <7a2afdc5af3b82b601f6a2f0d1c90d5f0bc27aeb
  7. Affected versionversion=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <89bd133529a4d2d68287128b357e49adc00ec690
  8. Affected versionversion=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <e6c49f0b203a987c306676d241066451b74db1a5
  9. Affected versionversion=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <e7417421d89358da071fd2930f91e67c7128fbff

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.2; version=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <27d07deea35ae67f2e75913242e25bdb7e1114e5; version=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <327997afbb5e62532c28c1861ab5534c01969c9a; version=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <347827bd0c5680dac2dd59674616840c4d5154f1; version=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <46b47d4b06fa7f234d93f0f8ac43798feafcff89; version=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <7a2afdc5af3b82b601f6a2f0d1c90d5f0bc27aeb; version=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <89bd133529a4d2d68287128b357e49adc00ec690; version=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <e6c49f0b203a987c306676d241066451b74db1a5; version=bdcd81707973cf8aa9305337166f8ee842a050d4 <e7417421d89358da071fd2930f91e67c7128fbff

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS: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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

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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