CVE-2025-38121
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-07-03

Last updated on: 2025-11-20

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: mld: avoid panic on init failure In case of an error during init, in_hw_restart will be set, but it will never get cleared. Instead, we will retry to init again, and then we will act like we are in a restart when we are actually not. This causes (among others) to a NULL pointer dereference when canceling rx_omi::finished_work, that was not even initialized, because we thought that we are in hw_restart. Set in_hw_restart to true only if the fw is running, then we know that FW was loaded successfully and we are not going to the retry loop.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-07-03
Last Modified
2025-11-20
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-07-03
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2025-38121
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-476 The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
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AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's iwlwifi driver related to multi-link device (mld) initialization. When an error happens during initialization, a flag called in_hw_restart is set but never cleared. This causes the system to retry initialization incorrectly and behave as if it is restarting hardware when it is not. This leads to a NULL pointer dereference when canceling a work item that was never initialized, potentially causing a kernel panic.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

The vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to panic due to a NULL pointer dereference, leading to system crashes or instability. This can disrupt normal operation, cause denial of service, and potentially affect system reliability.


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