How severe is CVE-2025-38420?

CVE-2025-38420 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-2025-38420 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (7th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-38420?

CVE-2025-38420 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2025-38420?

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

Does CVE-2025-38420 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2025-38420 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-22665.

When was CVE-2025-38420 published?

CVE-2025-38420 was published on 2025-07-25 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2025-38420

CVE-2025-38420 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% (7th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2025-22665
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2025-07-25
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: carl9170: do not ping device which has failed to load firmware Syzkaller reports [1, 2] crashes caused by an attempts to ping the device which has failed to load firmware. Since such a device doesn't pass 'ieee80211_register_hw()', an internal workqueue managed by 'ieee80211_queue_work()' is not yet created and an attempt to queue work on it causes null-ptr-deref. [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=9a4aec827829942045ff [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=0d8afba53e8fb2633217

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38420?: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: carl9170: do not ping device which has failed to load firmware Syzkaller reports [1, 2] crashes caused by an attempts to ping the device which has failed to load firmware. Since such a device doesn't pass 'ieee80211_register_hw()', an internal workqueue managed by 'ieee80211_queue_work()' is not yet created and an attempt to queue work on it causes null-ptr-deref. [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=9a4aec827829942045ff [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=0d8afba53e8fb2633217
How severe is CVE-2025-38420?: CVE-2025-38420 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-2025-38420 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (7th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-38420?: CVE-2025-38420 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-38420?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2025-38420 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2025-38420 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-22665.
When was CVE-2025-38420 published?: CVE-2025-38420 was published on 2025-07-25 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (4)

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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