CVE-2025-71229

Kernel crash via unaligned rtw88 beacon access

Published Feb 18, 2026 · Updated Feb 18, 2026

Denial of service in the Linux kernel rtw88 Wi-Fi driver allows local users to crash affected systems during beacon handling. rtw_core_enable_beacon() performs a four-byte read from a pointer that is not four-byte aligned, causing an alignment fault on systems that enforce aligned accesses. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access, an affected rtw88 device, and a kernel running the vulnerable driver code.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in the Linux kernel rtw88 Wi-Fi driver allows local users to crash affected systems during beacon handling. rtw_core_enable_beacon() performs a four-byte read from a pointer that is not four-byte aligned, causing an alignment fault on systems that enforce aligned accesses. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access, an affected rtw88 device, and a kernel running the vulnerable driver code.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-71229
Published
Feb 18, 2026
Updated
Feb 18, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 18, 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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <13394550441557115bb74f6de9778c165755a7ab
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <653f8b6a091538b084715f259900f62c2ec1c6cf
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <71dee092903adb496fe1f357b267d94087b679e0
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <7d31dde1bd8678115329e46dc8d7afb63c176b74

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <13394550441557115bb74f6de9778c165755a7ab; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <653f8b6a091538b084715f259900f62c2ec1c6cf; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <71dee092903adb496fe1f357b267d94087b679e0; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <7d31dde1bd8678115329e46dc8d7afb63c176b74

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

T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

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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