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CVE Record

CVE-2025-21828: wifi: mac80211: don't flush non-uploaded STAs

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: mac80211: don't flush non-uploaded STAs If STA state is pre-moved to AUTHORIZED (such as in IBSS scenarios) and insertion fails, the station is freed. In this case, the driver never knew about the station, so trying to flush it is unexpected and may crash. Check if the sta was uploaded to the driver before and fix this.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2025-21828 is a Linux kernel Wi-Fi bug where an unusual station-handling failure can lead to a crash. The source does not provide CVSS, CWE, or confirmed exploitation. Business urgency depends on whether affected systems use the Linux mac80211 Wi-Fi stack, especially wireless modes involving station authorization handling.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted Linux Wi-Fi stability risk until vendor severity data is available. Prioritize exposed laptops, appliances, and wireless-enabled Linux systems, but avoid emergency escalation without evidence of exploitation or a defined critical impact.

Technical view

In mac80211, if a station is moved to AUTHORIZED before driver upload and insertion later fails, the station is freed. The driver never knew about it, so a later flush can be unexpected and may crash. The fix checks whether the station was uploaded before flushing it.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux systems using affected kernel versions and Wi-Fi drivers through mac80211. The bundle lists Linux kernel versions including 6.4, 6.6.76, 6.12.13, 6.13.2, and 6.14 as affected; distro backports may change real exposure.

Exploitation context

The source states the condition may crash but does not describe remote reachability, privileges required, exploit reliability, or active exploitation. CISA KEV status is false in the bundle, so active exploitation should not be assumed.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE description and Linux stable commit references. No CVSS, CWE, exploit status, or detailed affected driver matrix is provided. Validate exact exposure through kernel configuration, driver use, and vendor backport status.

Mitigation direction

  • Check Linux distribution advisories for CVE-2025-21828 and backported fixes.
  • Update to a kernel package containing the relevant stable mac80211 fix.
  • Track the referenced upstream stable commits during remediation review.
  • If Wi-Fi is unnecessary, disable affected wireless functionality per operational policy.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions on systems with Wi-Fi hardware or drivers enabled.
  • Confirm whether installed kernels include the referenced stable commits or vendor backports.
  • Review vendor changelogs for explicit CVE-2025-21828 coverage.
  • Prioritize validation on systems using mac80211-based wireless networking.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2025-21828 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxd00800a289c9349bb659a698cbd7bc04521dc927, d00800a289c9349bb659a698cbd7bc04521dc927, d00800a289c9349bb659a698cbd7bc04521dc927, d00800a289c9349bb659a698cbd7bc04521dc927unaffected
LinuxLinux6.4, 0, 6.6.76, 6.12.13, 6.13.2, 6.14affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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