CVE-2025-8298VulnerabilityPublished 2 Sep 2025

CVE-2025-8298: Realtek RTL8811AU · Out-of-bounds Read

Affects Realtek RTL8811AUSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.8 Low.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score

3.8Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 2 Sep 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 2026-10-25.

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.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC 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

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Realtek RTL8811AU	Affected =1030.38.712.2019	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Update or patch the Realtek RTL8811AU driver to a version that addresses this vulnerability once available from the vendor. 2. Restrict local access to systems, enforcing strict user privilege management to prevent unauthorized execution of low-privileged code. 3. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor for suspicious local activity that could indicate exploitation attempts or privilege escalation. 4. Implement application whitelisting and restrict installation of unauthorized drivers or software to reduce the risk of local code execution. 5. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans to identify systems running the affected driver version and prioritize remediation. 6. Educate users and administrators about the risks of local attacks and enforce strong physical security controls to limit attacker access. 7. Consider network segmentation to isolate critical systems that may use affected hardware, reducing the risk of lateral movement if local compromise occurs.

Description

Realtek RTL8811AU rtwlanu.sys N6CQueryInformationHandleCustomized11nOids Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of Realtek RTL8811AU drivers. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the N6CQueryInformationHandleCustomized11nOids function. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the kernel. Was ZDI-CAN-25864.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential leakage of sensitive kernel memory information, which could include cryptographic keys, passwords, or other critical data residing in kernel space. While the vulnerability alone does not allow remote exploitation or direct code execution, it lowers the barrier for attackers who have already compromised a system with low privileges to escalate their access or maintain persistence by chaining this flaw with other vulnerabilities. This is particularly concerning for organizations with sensitive data or critical infrastructure relying on devices using the Realtek RTL8811AU wireless adapter. The risk is heightened in environments where endpoint security is weak, or where attackers have physical or local access to systems. However, the limited attack vector (local access required) and the absence of known exploits reduce the immediate threat level. Still, organizations should consider this vulnerability in their risk assessments, especially those in sectors with high security requirements such as finance, government, and critical infrastructure.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-25-881/ (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 9 Sep 2025, 21:52 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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