wifi: carl9170: do not ping device which has failed to load firmware
Priority LOW 24CWE-476Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: carl9170: do not ping device which has failed to load firmware Syzkaller reports [1, 2] crashes caused by an attempts to ping the device which has failed to load firmware. Since such a device doesn't pass 'ieee80211_register_hw()', an internal workqueue managed by 'ieee80211_queue_work()' is not yet created and an attempt to queue work on it causes null-ptr-deref. [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=9a4aec827829942045ff [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=0d8afba53e8fb2633217
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00208 11th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186 +5Red Hat: 2 without a fix
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.38 and later | 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.95, 6.12.35, 6.15.4, 6.16 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.38 and later Fixed in 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.95, 6.12.35, 6.15.4, 6.16 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.38 to before 5.4.295; 5.5 to before 5.10.239; 5.11 to before 5.15.186; 5.16 to before 6.1.142; 6.2 to before 6.6.95; 6.7 to before 6.12.35; 6.13 to before 6.15.4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 11.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.38 to before 5.4.295; 5.5 to before 5.10.239; 5.11 to before 5.15.186; 5.16 to before 6.1.142; 6.2 to before 6.6.95; 6.7 to before 6.12.35; 6.13 to before 6.15.4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 11.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.95, 6.12.35, 6.15.4, 6.16
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-38420
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-8249-rqx5-qf75
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0140d3d37f0f1759d1fdedd854c7875a86e15f8d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a3734a6f4c05fd24605148f21fb2066690d61b3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/527fad1ae32ffa2d4853a1425fe1c8dbb8c9744c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bfeede26e97ce4a15a0b961118de4a0e28c9907a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e9ab5c48ad5153cc908dd29abad0cd2a92951e4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/301268dbaac8e9013719e162a000202eac8054be
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11ef72b3312752c2ff92f3c1e64912be3228ed36
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/15d25307692312cec4b57052da73387f91a2e870
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-38420 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-38420 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-8249-rqx5-qf75 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-38420 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences