# CVE-2025-38199: wifi: ath12k: Fix memory leak due to multiple rx_stats allocation

> A memory leak in the ath12k WiFi driver allows attackers to exhaust system memory by repeatedly adding stations, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38199, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38199, GHSA-99r3-6mv3-4x8m, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38199, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-38199, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-38199, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38199, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38199

## What is CVE-2025-38199?

CVE-2025-38199 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 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: ath12k: Fix memory leak due to multiple rx_stats allocation

rx_stats for each arsta is allocated when adding a station.
arsta->rx_stats will be freed when a station is removed.

Redundant allocations are occurring when the same station is added
multiple times. This causes ath12k_mac_station_add() to be called
multiple times, and rx_stats is allocated each time. As a result there
is memory leaks.

Prevent multiple allocations of rx_stats when ath12k_mac_station_add()
is called repeatedly by checking if rx_stats is already allocated
before allocating again. Allocate arsta->rx_stats if arsta->rx_stats
is NULL respectively.

Tested-on: QCN9274 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.WBE.1.3.1-00173-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1
Tested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.0.c5-00481-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-3

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38199?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38199?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38199 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38199 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2025-38199 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38199 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38199 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2025-38199/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38199/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38199
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38199
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38199

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38199/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.