CVE-2025-68256 staging: rtl8723bs: fix out-of-bounds read in rtw_get_ie() parser
A malformed frame can cause out-of-bounds reads or infinite loops in the rtl8723bs Wi-Fi driver, leading to denial of service or information disclosure.
- 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-2025-68256?
CVE-2025-68256 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 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:
staging: rtl8723bs: fix out-of-bounds read in rtw_get_ie() parser
The Information Element (IE) parser rtw_get_ie() trusted the length byte of each IE without validating that the IE body (len bytes after the 2-byte header) fits inside the remaining frame buffer. A malformed frame can advertise an IE length larger than the available data, causing the parser to increment its pointer beyond the buffer end. This results in out-of-bounds reads or, depending on the pattern, an infinite loop.
Fix by validating that (offset + 2 + len) does not exceed the limit before accepting the IE or advancing to the next element.
This prevents OOB reads and ensures the parser terminates safely on malformed frames.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-68256?
How do I fix CVE-2025-68256?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2025-68256 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68256 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2025-68256, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-68256, GHSA-x52f-2whg-fhgm, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-68256, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-68256, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-68256 and 3 more.