How severe is CVE-2025-38121?

CVE-2025-38121 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2025-38121 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (3rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-38121?

CVE-2025-38121 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2025-38121?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

Does CVE-2025-38121 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2025-38121 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-19822.

When was CVE-2025-38121 published?

CVE-2025-38121 was published on 2025-07-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2025-38121

CVE-2025-38121 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-476.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (3rd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2025-19822
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2025-07-03
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: mld: avoid panic on init failure In case of an error during init, in_hw_restart will be set, but it will never get cleared. Instead, we will retry to init again, and then we will act like we are in a restart when we are actually not. This causes (among others) to a NULL pointer dereference when canceling rx_omi::finished_work, that was not even initialized, because we thought that we are in hw_restart. Set in_hw_restart to true only if the fw is running, then we know that FW was loaded successfully and we are not going to the retry loop.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38121?: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: mld: avoid panic on init failure In case of an error during init, in_hw_restart will be set, but it will never get cleared. Instead, we will retry to init again, and then we will act like we are in a restart when we are actually not. This causes (among others) to a NULL pointer dereference when canceling rx_omi::finished_work, that was not even initialized, because we thought that we are in hw_restart. Set in_hw_restart to true only if the fw is running, then we know that FW was loaded successfully and we are not going to the retry loop.
How severe is CVE-2025-38121?: CVE-2025-38121 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2025-38121 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (3rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-38121?: CVE-2025-38121 affects Linux Linux Kernel. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-38121?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2025-38121 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2025-38121 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-19822.
When was CVE-2025-38121 published?: CVE-2025-38121 was published on 2025-07-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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