CVE-2025-40234 platform/x86: alienware-wmi-wmax: Fix NULL pointer dereference in sleep handlers
A NULL pointer dereference in the Alienware WMI driver can cause a system crash when sleep handlers are triggered on devices lacking the AWCC interface.
- 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-2025-40234?
CVE-2025-40234 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 4 Dec 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:
platform/x86: alienware-wmi-wmax: Fix NULL pointer dereference in sleep handlers
Devices without the AWCC interface don't initialize `awcc`. Add a check before dereferencing it in sleep handlers.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-40234?
How do I fix CVE-2025-40234?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2025-40234 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-40234 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2025-40234, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-40234, GHSA-743v-7972-5q93, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-40234.