CVE-2025-38157: wifi: ath9k_htc: Abort software beacon handling if disabled

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-07-03 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-787

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath9k_htc: Abort software beacon handling if disabled A malicious USB device can send a WMI_SWBA_EVENTID event from an ath9k_htc-managed device before beaconing has been enabled. This causes a device-by-zero error in the driver, leading to either a crash or an out of bounds read. Prevent this by aborting the handling in ath9k_htc_swba() if beacons are not enabled.

Affected products

Debian Linux: 11.0
Linux kernel: from 3.0 before 5.4.295; from 5.5 before 5.10.239; from 5.11 before 5.15.186; from 5.16 before 6.1.142; from 6.2 before 6.6.94; from 6.7 before 6.12.34 — fixed in 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 5.4.295, 6.1.142, 6.12.34, 6.15.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 5.4.295, 6.1.142. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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