# 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.

- **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 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **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, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-68256, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-68256, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-68256

## 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.

## Is CVE-2025-68256 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68256 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-68256 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68256 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: 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-2025-68256/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-68256/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-68256
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-68256
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-68256

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-68256/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.