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

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.

Published: 2025-08-16 Last update: 2026-01-07 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-38513 is rated Low Risk (23.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-38513

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-01-08 0.06% 0.02% -0.04%
2 2025-12-16 0.02% 0.06% +0.04%
3 2025-08-16 0.02%

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38513

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-38513

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38513

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2025-38513 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 2 source packages (linux, linux-6.1), 6 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 6. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-38513
redhat https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38513
suse medium CVE-2025-38513 severity moderate: SUSE including 503 source package names (13.2-9.1:libsqlite3-0-3.49.1-1.1, 2.1.3-6.35:libsqlite3-0-3.49.1-1.1, …), 983 product×package rows across 178 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, … (178 product lines)): Fixed 692, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 35, First Fixed 25. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38513/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38513 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1414 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1017, ignored 165, released 165, needed 45, not-affected 18, needs-triage 2, pending 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38513

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38513

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 2.6.25, < 5.4.296 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.240 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.189 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.146 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.99 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.39 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.15.7 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38513

URL Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/014c34dc132015c4f918ada4982e952947ac1047 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5420de65efbeb6503bcf1d43451c9df67ad60298 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/602b4eb2f25668de15de69860ec99caf65b3684d Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/74b1ec9f5d627d2bdd5e5b6f3f81c23317657023 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/adf08c96b963c7cd7ec1ee1c0c556228d9bedaae Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b24f65c184540dfb967479320ecf7e8c2e9220dc Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1958270de947604cc6de05fc96dbba256b49cf0 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fcd9c923b58e86501450b9b442ccc7ce4a8d0fda Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence