VulnerabilityPublished 16 Aug 2025Updated 5 Nov 2026

CVE-2025-38509: Linux kernel · wifi: mac80211: reject VHT opmode for unsupported channel widths

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited : upgrade to 58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9 or 18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfa when convenient.

Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 21:19 UTC

Severity

Unrated

Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

Exploitation: No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable: Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact: Limited control over the software or limited information exposure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-11-05.

Patch

Available – fixed in 58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9, 18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfa

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Aug 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade Linux kernel to 58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9 or 18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfa.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 751e7489c1d74b94ffffbed619d8fd724eeff4ee, < 58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9	Fixed in 58fcb1b4287ce38850402bb2bb16d09bf77b91d9
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 751e7489c1d74b94ffffbed619d8fd724eeff4ee, < 18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfa	Fixed in 18eca59a04500b68a90e0c5c873f97c9d1ea2bfa
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.13	Fixed in–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: reject VHT opmode for unsupported channel widths VHT operating mode notifications are not defined for channel widths below 20 MHz. In particular, 5 MHz and 10 MHz are not valid under the VHT specification and must be rejected. Without this check, malformed notifications using these widths may reach ieee80211_chan_width_to_rx_bw(), leading to a WARN_ON due to invalid input. This issue was reported by syzbot. Reject these unsupported widths early in sta_link_apply_parameters() when opmode_notif is used. The accepted set includes 20, 40, 80, 160, and 80+80 MHz, which are valid for VHT. While 320 MHz is not defined for VHT, it is allowed to avoid rejecting HE or EHT clients that may still send a VHT opmode notification.

References

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