{"id":"CVE-2025-38116","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"wifi: ath12k: fix uaf in ath12k_core_init()","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath12k: fix uaf in ath12k_core_init()\n\nWhen the execution of ath12k_core_hw_group_assign() or\nath12k_core_hw_group_create() fails, the registered notifier chain is not\nunregistered properly. Its memory is freed after rmmod, which may trigger\nto a use-after-free (UAF) issue if there is a subsequent access to this\nnotifier chain.\n\nFixes the issue by calling ath12k_core_panic_notifier_unregister() in\nfailure cases.\n\nCall trace:\n notifier_chain_register+0x4c/0x1f0 (P)\n atomic_notifier_chain_register+0x38/0x68\n ath12k_core_init+0x50/0x4e8 [ath12k]\n ath12k_pci_probe+0x5f8/0xc28 [ath12k]\n pci_device_probe+0xbc/0x1a8\n really_probe+0xc8/0x3a0\n __driver_probe_device+0x84/0x1b0\n driver_probe_device+0x44/0x130\n __driver_attach+0xcc/0x208\n bus_for_each_dev+0x84/0x100\n driver_attach+0x2c/0x40\n bus_add_driver+0x130/0x260\n driver_register+0x70/0x138\n __pci_register_driver+0x68/0x80\n ath12k_pci_init+0x30/0x68 [ath12k]\n ath12k_init+0x28/0x78 [ath12k]\n\nTested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.0.c5-00481-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-3","publishedAt":"2025-07-03T08:35:24.413Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-05T11:59:40.578Z","severity":{"score":7.8,"label":"High","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","source":"Linux"},"assigner":"Linux","products":["Linux Linux"],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"6f245ea0ec6c29b90c8fa4fdf6e178c646125d7e","status":"affected","lessThan":"65e1b3404c211dcfaea02698539cdcd26647130f","versionType":"git"},{"version":"6f245ea0ec6c29b90c8fa4fdf6e178c646125d7e","status":"affected","lessThan":"f3fe49dbddd73f0155a8935af47cb63693069dbe","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/core.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"6.14","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"6.14","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.15.3","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.16","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/core.c"]}],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65e1b3404c211dcfaea02698539cdcd26647130f","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f3fe49dbddd73f0155a8935af47cb63693069dbe"],"weaknesses":[],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:09:09.358Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2025/38xxx/CVE-2025-38116.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2025-38116","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2025-07-03T08:35:24.413Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-05T11:59:40.578Z","assignerShortName":"Linux","assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateReserved":"2025-04-16T04:51:23.986Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"wifi: ath12k: fix uaf in ath12k_core_init()","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: ath12k: fix uaf in ath12k_core_init()\n\nWhen the execution of ath12k_core_hw_group_assign() or\nath12k_core_hw_group_create() fails, the registered notifier chain is not\nunregistered properly. Its memory is freed after rmmod, which may trigger\nto a use-after-free (UAF) issue if there is a subsequent access to this\nnotifier chain.\n\nFixes the issue by calling ath12k_core_panic_notifier_unregister() in\nfailure cases.\n\nCall trace:\n notifier_chain_register+0x4c/0x1f0 (P)\n atomic_notifier_chain_register+0x38/0x68\n ath12k_core_init+0x50/0x4e8 [ath12k]\n ath12k_pci_probe+0x5f8/0xc28 [ath12k]\n pci_device_probe+0xbc/0x1a8\n really_probe+0xc8/0x3a0\n __driver_probe_device+0x84/0x1b0\n driver_probe_device+0x44/0x130\n __driver_attach+0xcc/0x208\n bus_for_each_dev+0x84/0x100\n driver_attach+0x2c/0x40\n bus_add_driver+0x130/0x260\n driver_register+0x70/0x138\n __pci_register_driver+0x68/0x80\n ath12k_pci_init+0x30/0x68 [ath12k]\n ath12k_init+0x28/0x78 [ath12k]\n\nTested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.0.c5-00481-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-3"}],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"6f245ea0ec6c29b90c8fa4fdf6e178c646125d7e","status":"affected","lessThan":"65e1b3404c211dcfaea02698539cdcd26647130f","versionType":"git"},{"version":"6f245ea0ec6c29b90c8fa4fdf6e178c646125d7e","status":"affected","lessThan":"f3fe49dbddd73f0155a8935af47cb63693069dbe","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/core.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"6.14","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"6.14","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.15.3","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.16","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath12k/core.c"]}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65e1b3404c211dcfaea02698539cdcd26647130f"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f3fe49dbddd73f0155a8935af47cb63693069dbe"}],"metrics":[{"cvssV3_1":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","baseScore":7.8,"baseSeverity":"HIGH"},"scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"AV:L - The dangling `notifier_block` is created solely in the ath12k PCI/AHB probe path, entered locally via `finit_module()`, a sysfs `bind` write, or unattended boot-time device probe, and the UAF is consumed by local `panic_notifier_list` traversal or an in-kernel panic. No over-the-air WiFi frame or remote peer data reaches `ath12k_core_init()`, which runs entirely before the radio is registered.\nAC:L - Once `ath12k_core_hw_group_assign()` or `ath12k_core_hw_group_create()` fails — deterministic on any machine whose ath12k amss.bin/board-2.bin is missing or mismatched, since `ath12k_mhi_start()` then fails on every probe — the freed `&ab->panic_nb` is guaranteed to remain linked, with no race, timing window, or memory-layout condition to win, and repeated PCI bind/unbind plants additional dangling entries.\nPR:L - The vulnerable state is established by an unattended boot-time probe failure that requires no privileges at all; from there an ordinary unprivileged local user can reclaim the freed `struct ath12k_base` slab with sprayed data and have the stale entry walked or invoked, so no capability beyond a normal local account is needed to exploit it.\nUI:N - No action by any other user is required — the probe failure occurs automatically during boot or driver bind, and the subsequent notifier-chain traversal or panic dispatch happens without victim involvement.\nS:U - Both the freed object and the corrupted `panic_notifier_list` live in the kernel's own address space and security authority; no hypervisor, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.\nC:H - `notifier_chain_register()` dereferences `(*nl)->priority` and `(*nl)->next` out of the freed `ath12k_base`, and `ath12k_core_panic_handler()` reads `ab->hif.ops` from it, so an attacker who reclaims the slab obtains a use-after-free read primitive over kernel memory and leaks kernel pointers.\nI:H - `rcu_assign_pointer(*nl, n)` in `notifier_chain_register()` writes a kernel pointer directly into the freed (and therefore attacker-reclaimable) allocation, and the panic path performs an indirect call through `nb->notifier_call` plus `ab->hif.ops->panic_handler` read from that same freed memory — a control-flow hijack primitive.\nA:H - The reported call trace is a kernel oops inside `notifier_chain_register()` on the stale entry, and any panic afterwards dereferences freed memory while dispatching the panic notifiers, crashing the machine and defeating kdump/crash reporting."}]}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"Linux","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateUpdated":"2026-08-05T11:59:40.578Z"},"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"operator":"OR","negate":false,"cpeMatch":[{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.14","versionEndExcluding":"6.15.3"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.14","versionEndExcluding":"6.16"}]}]}],"x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}}}}