Wi-Fi firmware crash via swapped HE MCS fields
Published Dec 24, 2025 · Updated Dec 24, 2025
Incorrect HE MCS handling in Linux kernels from 5.16 allows physically proximate attackers to crash ath11k firmware via a rogue AP. ath11k_wmi_send_peer_assoc_cmd() reverses the peer transmit and receive MCS maps, placing an unsupported 0xffff transmit map in he_mcs->rx_mcs_set. Exploitation requires an ath11k device to associate with an access point advertising the crafted 160 MHz map; the bounded consequence is a Wi-Fi firmware crash.
Summary
What happened
Incorrect HE MCS handling in Linux kernels from 5.16 allows physically proximate attackers to crash ath11k firmware via a rogue AP. ath11k_wmi_send_peer_assoc_cmd() reverses the peer transmit and receive MCS maps, placing an unsupported 0xffff transmit map in he_mcs->rx_mcs_set. Exploitation requires an ath11k device to associate with an access point advertising the crafted 160 MHz map; the bounded consequence is a Wi-Fi firmware crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-68380
- Published
- Dec 24, 2025
- Updated
- Dec 24, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- adjacent
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 24, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Dec 24, 2025Record 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.
- Affected versionversion=5.16
- Affected versionversion=61fe43e7216df6e9a912d831aafc7142fa20f280 <097c870b91817779e5a312c6539099a884b1fe2b
- Affected versionversion=61fe43e7216df6e9a912d831aafc7142fa20f280 <381096a417b7019896e93e86f4c585c592bf98e2
- Affected versionversion=61fe43e7216df6e9a912d831aafc7142fa20f280 <4a013ca2d490c73c40588d62712ffaa432046a04
- Affected versionversion=61fe43e7216df6e9a912d831aafc7142fa20f280 <6b1a0da75932353f66e710976ca85a7131f647ff
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo