CVE-2025-40131 wifi: ath12k: Fix peer lookup in ath12k_dp_mon_rx_deliver_msdu()
A null pointer dereference in the ath12k WiFi driver during monitor mode can cause a kernel warning and potential denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2025-40131?
CVE-2025-40131 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 12 Nov 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 peer lookup in ath12k_dp_mon_rx_deliver_msdu()
In ath12k_dp_mon_rx_deliver_msdu(), peer lookup fails because rxcb->peer_id is not updated with a valid value. This is expected in monitor mode, where RX frames bypass the regular RX descriptor path that typically sets rxcb->peer_id. As a result, the peer is NULL, and link_id and link_valid fields in the RX status are not populated. This leads to a WARN_ON in mac80211 when it receives data frame from an associated station with invalid link_id.
Fix this potential issue by using ppduinfo->peer_id, which holds the correct peer id for the received frame. This ensures that the peer is correctly found and the associated link metadata is updated accordingly.
Tested-on: QCN9274 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.WBE.1.4.1-00199-QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-40131?
How do I fix CVE-2025-40131?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2025-40131 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-40131 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2025-40131, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-40131, GHSA-m4rx-9548-xc7v, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-40131.