# CVE-2025-38512: wifi: prevent A-MSDU attacks in mesh networks > Attackers can spoof A-MSDU frames in Linux kernel mesh networks to bypass security checks and modify data, requiring kernel patches. - **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`) - **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:** 16 Aug 2025 - **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** AZL-66398, BELL-CVE-2025-38512, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38512, GHSA-hxq3-8p4p-wv7w, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-38512, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38512, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-38512, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-38512, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38512, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38512 ## What is CVE-2025-38512? CVE-2025-38512 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 16 Aug 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: prevent A-MSDU attacks in mesh networks This patch is a mitigation to prevent the A-MSDU spoofing vulnerability for mesh networks. The initial update to the IEEE 802.11 standard, in response to the FragAttacks, missed this case (CVE-2025-27558). It can be considered a variant of CVE-2020-24588 but for mesh networks. This patch tries to detect if a standard MSDU was turned into an A-MSDU by an adversary. This is done by parsing a received A-MSDU as a standard MSDU, calculating the length of the Mesh Control header, and seeing if the 6 bytes after this header equal the start of an rfc1042 header. If equal, this is a strong indication of an ongoing attack attempt. This defense was tested with mac80211_hwsim against a mesh network that uses an empty Mesh Address Extension field, i.e., when four addresses are used, and when using a 12-byte Mesh Address Extension field, i.e., when six addresses are used. Functionality of normal MSDUs and A-MSDUs was also tested, and confirmed working, when using both an empty and 12-byte Mesh Address Extension field. It was also tested with mac80211_hwsim that A-MSDU attacks in non-mesh networks keep being detected and prevented. Note that the vulnerability being patched, and the defense being implemented, was also discussed in the following paper and in the following IEEE 802.11 presentation: https://papers.mathyvanhoef.com/wisec2025.pdf https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/25/11-25-0949-00-000m-a-msdu-mesh-spoof-protection.docx ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38512? It affects 2 products. Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2025-38512? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2025-38512 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38512 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux - [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2025-38512 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2025-38512 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 16 Aug 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-2025-38512 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2025-38512/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38512/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38512 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38512 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38512 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38512/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.