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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2025-38509: wifi: mac80211: reject VHT opmode for unsupported channel widths

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.13% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfa, 58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfa, 58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: reject VHT opmode for unsupported channel widths VHT operating mode notifications are not defined for channel widths below 20 MHz. In particular, 5 MHz and 10 MHz are not valid under the VHT specification and must be rejected. Without this check, malformed notifications using these widths may reach ieee80211_chan_width_to_rx_bw(), leading to a WARN_ON due to invalid input. This issue was reported by syzbot. Reject these unsupported widths early in sta_link_apply_parameters() when opmode_notif is used. The accepted set includes 20, 40, 80, 160, and 80+80 MHz, which are valid for VHT. While 320 MHz is not defined for VHT, it is allowed to avoid rejecting HE or EHT clients that may still send a VHT opmode notification.

Published
Aug 16, 2025
Updated
Nov 5, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 3th percentile
CWE
—

Report tools

JSON

Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 6.13affected
    • 751e7489c1d74b94ffffbed619d8fd724eeff4ee and later · before 18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfaaffected · git
    • 751e7489c1d74b94ffffbed619d8fd724eeff4ee and later · before 58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9affected · git
    • before 6.13not affected · semver
    • 6.15.7 and later · up to and including 6.15.*not affected · semver
    • 6.16 and laternot affected · original_commit_for_fix

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • linux linux kernel6.13 and later · before 6.15.7
  • linux linux kernel6.16

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe…KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2025-38505Aug 16, 2025 · wifi: mwifiex: discard erroneous disassoc frames on STA interface
    22Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2025-38507Aug 16, 2025 · HID: nintendo: avoid bluetooth suspend/resume stalls
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2025-38510Aug 16, 2025 · kasan: remove kasan_find_vm_area() to prevent possible deadlock
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfaVendor (CNA)
Linux Linux58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9Vendor (CNA)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

—

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records