# CVE-2025-71297: wifi: rtw88: 8822b: Avoid WARNING in rtw8822b_config_trx_mode()

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel warning and potential instability by setting antenna configuration while the WiFi chip is powered off.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 May 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-71297, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-71297, GHSA-6742-4ch2-g86j, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-71297, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-71297, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-71297, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-71297

## What is CVE-2025-71297?

CVE-2025-71297 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 May 2026. 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: rtw88: 8822b: Avoid WARNING in rtw8822b_config_trx_mode()

rtw8822b_set_antenna() can be called from userspace when the chip is
powered off. In that case a WARNING is triggered in
rtw8822b_config_trx_mode() because trying to read the RF registers
when the chip is powered off returns an unexpected value.

Call rtw8822b_config_trx_mode() in rtw8822b_set_antenna() only when
the chip is powered on.

------------[ cut here ]------------
write RF mode table fail
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 7183 at rtw8822b.c:824 rtw8822b_config_trx_mode.constprop.0+0x835/0x840 [rtw88_8822b]
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 7183 Comm: iw Tainted: G        W  OE       6.17.5-arch1-1 #1 PREEMPT(full)  01c39fc421df2af799dd5e9180b572af860b40c1
Tainted: [W]=WARN, [O]=OOT_MODULE, [E]=UNSIGNED_MODULE
Hardware name: LENOVO 82KR/LNVNB161216, BIOS HBCN18WW 08/27/2021
RIP: 0010:rtw8822b_config_trx_mode.constprop.0+0x835/0x840 [rtw88_8822b]
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 rtw8822b_set_antenna+0x57/0x70 [rtw88_8822b 370206f42e5890d8d5f48eb358b759efa37c422b]
 rtw_ops_set_antenna+0x50/0x80 [rtw88_core 711c8fb4f686162be4625b1d0b8e8c6a5ac850fb]
 ieee80211_set_antenna+0x60/0x100 [mac80211 f1845d85d2ecacf3b71867635a050ece90486cf3]
 nl80211_set_wiphy+0x384/0xe00 [cfg80211 296485ee85696d2150309a6d21a7fbca83d3dbda]
 ? netdev_run_todo+0x63/0x550
 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xfc/0x160
 genl_rcv_msg+0x1aa/0x2b0
 ? __pfx_nl80211_pre_doit+0x10/0x10 [cfg80211 296485ee85696d2150309a6d21a7fbca83d3dbda]
 ? __pfx_nl80211_set_wiphy+0x10/0x10 [cfg80211 296485ee85696d2150309a6d21a7fbca83d3dbda]
 ? __pfx_nl80211_post_doit+0x10/0x10 [cfg80211 296485ee85696d2150309a6d21a7fbca83d3dbda]
 ? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10
 netlink_rcv_skb+0x59/0x110
 genl_rcv+0x28/0x40
 netlink_unicast+0x285/0x3c0
 ? __alloc_skb+0xdb/0x1a0
 netlink_sendmsg+0x20d/0x430
 ____sys_sendmsg+0x39f/0x3d0
 ? import_iovec+0x2f/0x40
 ___sys_sendmsg+0x99/0xe0
 ? refill_obj_stock+0x12e/0x240
 __sys_sendmsg+0x8a/0xf0
 do_syscall_64+0x81/0x970
 ? do_syscall_64+0x81/0x970
 ? ksys_read+0x73/0xf0
 ? do_syscall_64+0x81/0x970
 ? count_memcg_events+0xc2/0x190
 ? handle_mm_fault+0x1d7/0x2d0
 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x21a/0x690
 ? exc_page_fault+0x7e/0x1a0
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
 </TASK>
---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-71297?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-71297?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-71297 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-71297 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-71297 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-71297 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 May 2026. 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-2025-71297 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2025-71297/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71297/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-71297
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-71297
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-71297

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-71297/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
