vulnerability
Ubuntu: (Multiple Advisories) (CVE-2025-38513): Linux kernel vulnerabilities
| Severity | CVSS | Published | Added | Modified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | (AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:C) | Aug 16, 2025 | Sep 26, 2025 | Mar 27, 2026 |
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
wifi: zd1211rw: Fix potential NULL pointer dereference in zd_mac_tx_to_dev()
There is a potential NULL pointer dereference in zd_mac_tx_to_dev(). For
example, the following is possible:
T0 T1
zd_mac_tx_to_dev()
/* len == skb_queue_len(q) */
while (len > ZD_MAC_MAX_ACK_WAITERS) {
filter_ack()
spin_lock_irqsave(&q->lock, flags);
/* position == skb_queue_len(q) */
for (i=1; i<position; i++)
skb = __skb_dequeue(q)
if (mac->type == NL80211_IFTYPE_AP)
skb = __skb_dequeue(q);
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&q->lock, flags);
skb_dequeue() -> NULL
Since there is a small gap between checking skb queue length and skb being
unconditionally dequeued in zd_mac_tx_to_dev(), skb_dequeue() can return NULL.
Then the pointer is passed to zd_mac_tx_status() where it is dereferenced.
In order to avoid potential NULL pointer dereference due to situations like
above, check if skb is not NULL before passing it to zd_mac_tx_status().
Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with SVACE.
Solutions
References
2026 Global Threat Landscape Report
The predictive window has collapsed. Exploitation follows disclosure in days. See how attackers are accelerating and how to stay ahead.