{ "dataType": "CVE_RECORD", "dataVersion": "5.2", "cveMetadata": { "cveId": "CVE-2025-21979", "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "state": "PUBLISHED", "assignerShortName": "Linux", "dateReserved": "2024-12-29T08:45:45.798Z", "datePublished": "2025-04-01T15:47:08.699Z", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T11:55:49.695Z" }, "containers": { "cna": { "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "shortName": "Linux", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T11:55:49.695Z" }, "descriptions": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nwifi: cfg80211: cancel wiphy_work before freeing wiphy\n\nA wiphy_work can be queued from the moment the wiphy is allocated and\ninitialized (i.e. wiphy_new_nm). When a wiphy_work is queued, the\nrdev::wiphy_work is getting queued.\n\nIf wiphy_free is called before the rdev::wiphy_work had a chance to run,\nthe wiphy memory will be freed, and then when it eventally gets to run\nit'll use invalid memory.\n\nFix this by canceling the work before freeing the wiphy." } ], "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 wiphy lifecycle operations that trigger the free (`HWSIM_CMD_NEW_RADIO`/`DEL_RADIO` generic netlink, `RTM_NEWLINK`/`DELLINK` for virt_wifi, netns teardown, module/device removal) are all local syscall/netlink operations. Remote 802.11 frames can keep wiphy_work queued but cannot themselves free the wiphy, so the attacker must have local access.\nAC:L - The attacker drives both halves — they allocate the wiphy, queue the wiphy_work, and free the wiphy, and can hit deterministic failure paths in `wiphy_new_nm()`/`mac80211_hwsim_new_radio()` or simply loop create/destroy while widening the window with CPU load. Per kernel UAF guidance an attacker-created race is Low.\nPR:L - `hwsim_new_radio_nl`/`hwsim_del_radio_nl` are gated only by `GENL_UNS_ADMIN_PERM`, i.e. `netlink_ns_capable(skb, net->user_ns, CAP_NET_ADMIN)` on a `.netnsok` family, so any unprivileged user obtains it via `unshare -Urn`; virt_wifi's rtnetlink create/destroy is namespaced the same way. No real root in the init namespace is needed.\nUI:N - The attacker performs the entire sequence — allocate wiphy, queue work, free wiphy — from their own process with no victim participation. No mount, file open, or any other user action is involved.\nS:U - The use-after-free corrupts kernel heap memory and hijacks kernel control flow within the same security authority; no VM, hypervisor, or IOMMU/DMA boundary is crossed.\nC:H - The stale worker reads the work-list head and a `struct wiphy_work *` out of the freed `rdev`, so a heap-spray reclaim of the freed allocation gives the attacker control of those pointers; combined with the `list_del_init()` write primitive this is leverageable into arbitrary kernel memory disclosure.\nI:H - `list_del_init(&wk->entry)` writes attacker-influenced values through pointers read from freed memory (write-what-where), and `wk->func(&rdev->wiphy, wk)` is an indirect call through a function pointer read from freed memory — a direct control-flow hijack enabling arbitrary code execution.\nA:H - Even without exploitation the stale `cfg80211_wiphy_work()` takes a mutex and spinlock in freed, already-`mutex_destroy`'d memory and dereferences a garbage list head, producing a KASAN splat, oops, or panic; the attacker can retrigger it in a loop." } ] } ], "affected": [ { "product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "unaffected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": [ "net/wireless/core.c" ], "versions": [ { "version": "ddb1bfbf4ab5c753954d0cd728253b642934a9f2", "lessThan": "8930a3e1568cf534f86c8ed2def817c6d0528fc1", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "3fcc6d7d5f40dad56dee7bde787b7e23edd4b93c", "lessThan": "0272d4af7f92997541d8bbf4c51918b93ded6ee2", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "a3ee4dc84c4e9d14cb34dad095fd678127aca5b6", "lessThan": "75d262ad3c36d52852d764588fcd887f0fcd9138", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "a3ee4dc84c4e9d14cb34dad095fd678127aca5b6", "lessThan": "a5158d67bff06cb6fea31be39aeb319fd908ed8e", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "a3ee4dc84c4e9d14cb34dad095fd678127aca5b6", "lessThan": "dea22de162058216a90f2706f0d0b36f0ff309fd", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "a3ee4dc84c4e9d14cb34dad095fd678127aca5b6", "lessThan": "72d520476a2fab6f3489e8388ab524985d6c4b90", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "6.1.57", "lessThan": "6.1.132", "status": "affected", "versionType": "semver" } ] }, { "product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "affected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": [ "net/wireless/core.c" ], "versions": [ { "version": "6.5", "status": "affected" }, { "version": "0", "lessThan": "6.5", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.1.132", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.6.84", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.12.20", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.13.8", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.13.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.14", "lessThanOrEqual": "*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix" } ] } ], "cpeApplicability": [ { "nodes": [ { "operator": "OR", "negate": false, "cpeMatch": [ { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.1.57", "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.132" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.5", "versionEndExcluding": "6.6.84" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.5", "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.20" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.5", "versionEndExcluding": "6.13.8" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.5", "versionEndExcluding": "6.14" } ] } ] } ], "references": [ { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8930a3e1568cf534f86c8ed2def817c6d0528fc1" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0272d4af7f92997541d8bbf4c51918b93ded6ee2" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75d262ad3c36d52852d764588fcd887f0fcd9138" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5158d67bff06cb6fea31be39aeb319fd908ed8e" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dea22de162058216a90f2706f0d0b36f0ff309fd" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/72d520476a2fab6f3489e8388ab524985d6c4b90" } ], "title": "wifi: cfg80211: cancel wiphy_work before freeing wiphy", "x_generator": { "engine": "bippy-1.2.0" } }, "adp": [ { "problemTypes": [ { "descriptions": [ { "type": "CWE", "cweId": "CWE-416", "lang": "en", "description": "CWE-416 Use After Free" } ] } ], "metrics": [ { "cvssV3_1": { "scope": "UNCHANGED", "version": "3.1", "baseScore": 7.8, "attackVector": "LOCAL", "baseSeverity": "HIGH", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H", "integrityImpact": "HIGH", "userInteraction": "NONE", "attackComplexity": "LOW", "availabilityImpact": "HIGH", "privilegesRequired": "LOW", "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH" } }, { "other": { "type": "ssvc", "content": { "timestamp": "2025-10-01T17:15:17.684537Z", "id": "CVE-2025-21979", "options": [ { "Exploitation": "none" }, { "Automatable": "no" }, { "Technical Impact": "total" } ], "role": "CISA Coordinator", "version": "2.0.3" } } } ], "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment", "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0", "shortName": "CISA-ADP", "dateUpdated": "2025-10-01T17:15:20.536Z" } }, { "title": "CVE Program Container", "references": [ { "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html" } ], "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108", "shortName": "CVE", "dateUpdated": "2025-11-03T19:40:19.723Z" } } ] } }