CVE-2025-38513: wifi: zd1211rw: Fix potential NULL pointer dereference in zd_mac_tx_to_dev()

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 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: 2025-08-16 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-476

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.

Affected products

Debian Linux: 11.0
Linux kernel: from 2.6.25 before 5.4.296; from 5.5 before 5.10.240; from 5.11 before 5.15.189; from 5.16 before 6.1.146; from 6.2 before 6.6.99; from 6.7 before 6.12.39 — fixed in 5.10.240, 5.15.189, 5.4.296, 6.1.146, 6.12.39, 6.15.7

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.240, 5.15.189, 5.4.296, 6.1.146. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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