# CVE-2013-4579: Information disclosure in n/a

> Remote attackers can discover the original MAC address of a Wi-Fi device by sending crafted packets, bypassing MAC spoofing protections in the ath9k_htc driver.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Nov 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2013-4579, GHSA-v4p7-4gcw-hc4c

## What is CVE-2013-4579?

CVE-2013-4579 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Nov 2013. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The ath9k_htc_set_bssid_mask function in drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_drv_main.c in the Linux kernel through 3.12 uses a BSSID masking approach to determine the set of MAC addresses on which a Wi-Fi device is listening, which allows remote attackers to discover the original MAC address after spoofing by sending a series of packets to MAC addresses with certain bit manipulations.

Weakness: CWE-310

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-4579?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-4579?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2013-4579 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-4579 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Linux Kernel 3.0.5 - 'ath9k_htc_set_bssid_mask()' Information Disclosure (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-4579 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-4579 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Nov 2013. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-4579 exists.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4579/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4579/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-4579
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4579
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-4579

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-4579/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.