CVE-2025-38642

Kernel warning via unfiltered monitor link changes

Published Aug 22, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Reachable assertion in affected Linux kernels allows local users to trigger a kernel warning by changing a monitor interface link setting. The ieee80211_link_info_change_notify path fails to exclude monitor interfaces when hardware lacks WANT_MONITOR_VIF, so per-link changes proceed to the warning path. The trigger requires local access, monitor mode, and affected Wi-Fi hardware; published evidence identifies the warning and availability impact but no data compromise.

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

What happened

Reachable assertion in affected Linux kernels allows local users to trigger a kernel warning by changing a monitor interface link setting. The ieee80211_link_info_change_notify path fails to exclude monitor interfaces when hardware lacks WANT_MONITOR_VIF, so per-link changes proceed to the warning path. The trigger requires local access, monitor mode, and affected Wi-Fi hardware; published evidence identifies the warning and availability impact but no data compromise.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38642
Published
Aug 22, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-617, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 22, 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=6.13
  2. Affected versionversion=c4382d5ca1af75cf909463c7a707efd1a5f9a557 <1e10ded6b0f9b0eeefaacbb6c6c6afff3f702812
  3. Affected versionversion=c4382d5ca1af75cf909463c7a707efd1a5f9a557 <c57e5b9819dfd16d709bcd6cb633301ed0829a66
  4. Affected versionversion=c4382d5ca1af75cf909463c7a707efd1a5f9a557 <ff15498ebaa49c5429a74e70a1951dede60cd14c

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.13; version=c4382d5ca1af75cf909463c7a707efd1a5f9a557 <1e10ded6b0f9b0eeefaacbb6c6c6afff3f702812; version=c4382d5ca1af75cf909463c7a707efd1a5f9a557 <c57e5b9819dfd16d709bcd6cb633301ed0829a66; version=c4382d5ca1af75cf909463c7a707efd1a5f9a557 <ff15498ebaa49c5429a74e70a1951dede60cd14c

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-617Reachable Assertion
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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