CVE-2025-40321
wifi: brcmfmac: fix crash while sending Action Frames in standalone AP Mode
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: brcmfmac: fix crash while sending Action Frames in standalone AP Mode Currently, whenever there is a need to transmit an Action frame, the brcmfmac driver always uses the P2P vif to send the "actframe" IOVAR to firmware. The P2P interfaces were available when wpa_supplicant is managing the wlan interface. However, the P2P interfaces are not created/initialized when only hostapd is managing the wlan interface. And if hostapd receives an ANQP Query REQ Action frame even from an un-associated STA, the brcmfmac driver tries to use an uninitialized P2P vif pointer for sending the IOVAR to firmware. This NULL pointer dereferencing triggers a driver crash. [ 1417.074538] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000 [...] [ 1417.075188] Hardware name: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.5 (DT) [...] [ 1417.075653] Call trace: [ 1417.075662] brcmf_p2p_send_action_frame+0x23c/0xc58 [brcmfmac] [ 1417.075738] brcmf_cfg80211_mgmt_tx+0x304/0x5c0 [brcmfmac] [ 1417.075810] cfg80211_mlme_mgmt_tx+0x1b0/0x428 [cfg80211] [ 1417.076067] nl80211_tx_mgmt+0x238/0x388 [cfg80211] [ 1417.076281] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xe0/0x158 [ 1417.076302] genl_rcv_msg+0x220/0x2a0 [ 1417.076317] netlink_rcv_skb+0x68/0x140 [ 1417.076330] genl_rcv+0x40/0x60 [ 1417.076343] netlink_unicast+0x330/0x3b8 [ 1417.076357] netlink_sendmsg+0x19c/0x3f8 [ 1417.076370] __sock_sendmsg+0x64/0xc0 [ 1417.076391] ____sys_sendmsg+0x268/0x2a0 [ 1417.076408] ___sys_sendmsg+0xb8/0x118 [ 1417.076427] __sys_sendmsg+0x90/0xf8 [ 1417.076445] __arm64_sys_sendmsg+0x2c/0x40 [ 1417.076465] invoke_syscall+0x50/0x120 [ 1417.076486] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x48/0xf0 [ 1417.076506] do_el0_svc+0x24/0x38 [ 1417.076525] el0_svc+0x30/0x100 [ 1417.076548] el0t_64_sync_handler+0x100/0x130 [ 1417.076569] el0t_64_sync+0x190/0x198 [ 1417.076589] Code: f9401e80 aa1603e2 f9403be1 5280e483 (f9400000) Fix this, by always using the vif corresponding to the wdev on which the Action frame Transmission request was initiated by the userspace. This way, even if P2P vif is not available, the IOVAR is sent to firmware on AP vif and the ANQP Query RESP Action frame is transmitted without crashing the driver. Move init_completion() for "send_af_done" from brcmf_p2p_create_p2pdev() to brcmf_p2p_attach(). Because the former function would not get executed when only hostapd is managing wlan interface, and it is not safe to do reinit_completion() later in brcmf_p2p_tx_action_frame(), without any prior init_completion(). And in the brcmf_p2p_tx_action_frame() function, the condition check for P2P Presence response frame is not needed, since the wpa_supplicant is properly sending the P2P Presense Response frame on the P2P-GO vif instead of the P2P-Device vif. [Cc stable]
INFO
Published Date :
Dec. 8, 2025, 1:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
Dec. 8, 2025, 1:16 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Update the Linux kernel to a patched version.
- Apply the specific brcmfmac driver fix.
- Ensure hostapd manages the wlan interface correctly.
- Reinitialize completion for send_af_done.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
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associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
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stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-40321
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
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Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Dec. 08, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: brcmfmac: fix crash while sending Action Frames in standalone AP Mode Currently, whenever there is a need to transmit an Action frame, the brcmfmac driver always uses the P2P vif to send the "actframe" IOVAR to firmware. The P2P interfaces were available when wpa_supplicant is managing the wlan interface. However, the P2P interfaces are not created/initialized when only hostapd is managing the wlan interface. And if hostapd receives an ANQP Query REQ Action frame even from an un-associated STA, the brcmfmac driver tries to use an uninitialized P2P vif pointer for sending the IOVAR to firmware. This NULL pointer dereferencing triggers a driver crash. [ 1417.074538] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000 [...] [ 1417.075188] Hardware name: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.5 (DT) [...] [ 1417.075653] Call trace: [ 1417.075662] brcmf_p2p_send_action_frame+0x23c/0xc58 [brcmfmac] [ 1417.075738] brcmf_cfg80211_mgmt_tx+0x304/0x5c0 [brcmfmac] [ 1417.075810] cfg80211_mlme_mgmt_tx+0x1b0/0x428 [cfg80211] [ 1417.076067] nl80211_tx_mgmt+0x238/0x388 [cfg80211] [ 1417.076281] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xe0/0x158 [ 1417.076302] genl_rcv_msg+0x220/0x2a0 [ 1417.076317] netlink_rcv_skb+0x68/0x140 [ 1417.076330] genl_rcv+0x40/0x60 [ 1417.076343] netlink_unicast+0x330/0x3b8 [ 1417.076357] netlink_sendmsg+0x19c/0x3f8 [ 1417.076370] __sock_sendmsg+0x64/0xc0 [ 1417.076391] ____sys_sendmsg+0x268/0x2a0 [ 1417.076408] ___sys_sendmsg+0xb8/0x118 [ 1417.076427] __sys_sendmsg+0x90/0xf8 [ 1417.076445] __arm64_sys_sendmsg+0x2c/0x40 [ 1417.076465] invoke_syscall+0x50/0x120 [ 1417.076486] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x48/0xf0 [ 1417.076506] do_el0_svc+0x24/0x38 [ 1417.076525] el0_svc+0x30/0x100 [ 1417.076548] el0t_64_sync_handler+0x100/0x130 [ 1417.076569] el0t_64_sync+0x190/0x198 [ 1417.076589] Code: f9401e80 aa1603e2 f9403be1 5280e483 (f9400000) Fix this, by always using the vif corresponding to the wdev on which the Action frame Transmission request was initiated by the userspace. This way, even if P2P vif is not available, the IOVAR is sent to firmware on AP vif and the ANQP Query RESP Action frame is transmitted without crashing the driver. Move init_completion() for "send_af_done" from brcmf_p2p_create_p2pdev() to brcmf_p2p_attach(). Because the former function would not get executed when only hostapd is managing wlan interface, and it is not safe to do reinit_completion() later in brcmf_p2p_tx_action_frame(), without any prior init_completion(). And in the brcmf_p2p_tx_action_frame() function, the condition check for P2P Presence response frame is not needed, since the wpa_supplicant is properly sending the P2P Presense Response frame on the P2P-GO vif instead of the P2P-Device vif. [Cc stable] Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3776c685ebe5f43e9060af06872661de55e80b9a Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/55f60a72a178909ece4e32987e4c642ba57e1cf4 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64e3175d1c8a3bea02032e7c9d1befd5f43786fa Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a6eed58249e7d60f856900e682992300f770f64b Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c2b0f8d3e7358c33d90f0e62765d474f25f26a45 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c863b9c7b4e9af0b7931cb791ec91971a50f1a25 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dbc7357b6aae686d9404e1dd7e2e6cf92c3a1b5a Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1fc9afcce9139791260f962541282d47fbb508d