CVE-2025-38157 wifi: ath9k_htc: Abort software beacon handling if disabled
A malicious USB device can trigger a crash or out-of-bounds read in the ath9k_htc driver by sending events before beaconing is enabled.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-38157?
CVE-2025-38157 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 3 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: ath9k_htc: Abort software beacon handling if disabled
A malicious USB device can send a WMI_SWBA_EVENTID event from an ath9k_htc-managed device before beaconing has been enabled. This causes a device-by-zero error in the driver, leading to either a crash or an out of bounds read.
Prevent this by aborting the handling in ath9k_htc_swba() if beacons are not enabled.
Weakness: CWE-787
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38157?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2025-38157?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2025-38157 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38157 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux
Sources
Also known as AZL-64508, BELL-CVE-2025-38157, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38157, GHSA-96qp-g823-h3rv, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-38157, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38157 and 3 more.