CVE-2025-38600
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes an off-by-one buffer overflow vulnerability in the mt7925 WiFi driver in the Linux kernel. An attacker could potentially cause a kernel panic or execute arbitrary code by triggering a malformed WiFi scan request. This affects systems using MediaTek MT7925 WiFi chipsets with vulnerable kernel versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Linux kernel with MediaTek MT7925 WiFi driver
📦 What is this software?
Linux Kernel by Linux
The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...
Learn more about Linux Kernel →⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Kernel panic leading to system crash or potential arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges, resulting in complete system compromise.
Likely Case
Kernel panic causing denial of service (system crash) when processing malformed WiFi scan requests.
If Mitigated
No impact if the vulnerability is patched or if the affected driver module is not loaded.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires ability to send malformed WiFi scan requests to the affected driver, which typically requires network access and driver interaction.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 4d80d4fa986c5da99042b66bf30a028e7f564156 and b3a431fe2e399b2e0cc5f43f7e9d63d63d3710ee
Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d80d4fa986c5da99042b66bf30a028e7f564156
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. For distributions: Use package manager to update kernel package. 3. Rebuild kernel if using custom kernel. 4. Load updated kernel module.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable MT7925 WiFi module
allPrevent loading of the vulnerable mt76 driver module for MT7925 chipsets
echo 'blacklist mt76' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-mt76.conf
rmmod mt76
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable WiFi functionality on affected systems
- Implement network segmentation to limit access to WiFi interfaces
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if mt76 module is loaded: lsmod | grep mt76. Check kernel version against patched versions.Check Version:
uname -rVerify Fix Applied:
Verify kernel version includes fix commits. Check dmesg for mt76 driver loading without errors.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Kernel panic messages in dmesg/system logs
- mt76 driver crash logs
- WiFi scan related errors
Network Indicators:
- Unusual WiFi scan patterns
- Multiple failed scan requests to MT7925 interfaces
SIEM Query:
source="kernel" AND ("panic" OR "Oops" OR "mt76" OR "mt7925")