CVE-2025-38116
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ath12k wireless driver. When device initialization fails, the driver does not properly unregister an internal notification handler before its memory is freed during module unloading. A local privileged user could exploit this use-after-free vulnerability upon subsequent access to the handler, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS) through a system crash.
Statement
The vulnerability is classified as a use-after-free in the ath12k_core_init() function. It occurs when the notifier chain is not properly unregistered upon initialization failure, potentially leading to kernel crashes upon later access. For the CVSS the Privileges Required (PR) metric is set to High, as exploitation requires the ability to load and unload kernel modules (e.g., insmod/rmmod), which is restricted to privileged users with CAP_SYS_MODULE or root access. The bug is relevant only for the latest version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 (and newer), because in earlier versions the Linux kernel config option CONFIG_ATH12K was disabled.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, prevent module ath12k from being loaded. Please see https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for how to blacklist a kernel module to prevent it from loading automatically.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.1 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | Local |
| Attack Complexity | High | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | High | Low | Low |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | High | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | High | High |
| Availability Impact | High | High | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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