LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2025-38512: wifi: prevent A-MSDU attacks in mesh networks

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: prevent A-MSDU attacks in mesh networks This patch is a mitigation to prevent the A-MSDU spoofing vulnerability for mesh networks. The initial update to the IEEE 802.11 standard, in response to the FragAttacks, missed this case (CVE-2025-27558). It can be considered a variant of CVE-2020-24588 but for mesh networks. This patch tries to detect if a standard MSDU was turned into an A-MSDU by an adversary. This is done by parsing a received A-MSDU as a standard MSDU, calculating the length of the Mesh Control header, and seeing if the 6 bytes after this header equal the start of an rfc1042 header. If equal, this is a strong indication of an ongoing attack attempt. This defense was tested with mac80211_hwsim against a mesh network that uses an empty Mesh Address Extension field, i.e., when four addresses are used, and when using a 12-byte Mesh Address Extension field, i.e., when six addresses are used. Functionality of normal MSDUs and A-MSDUs was also tested, and confirmed working, when using both an empty and 12-byte Mesh Address Extension field. It was also tested with mac80211_hwsim that A-MSDU attacks in non-mesh networks keep being detected and prevented. Note that the vulnerability being patched, and the defense being implemented, was also discussed in the following paper and in the following IEEE 802.11 presentation: https://papers.mathyvanhoef.com/wisec2025.pdf https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/25/11-25-0949-00-000m-a-msdu-mesh-spoof-protection.docx

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2025-38512 is a Linux kernel Wi-Fi mesh vulnerability related to A-MSDU spoofing. The sources describe it as a FragAttacks-related variant affecting mesh networks, not ordinary internet-facing services. Business urgency depends on whether Linux devices operate Wi-Fi mesh networks using affected kernel builds.

Executive priority

Prioritize this for wireless mesh infrastructure, embedded Linux devices, and Linux-based network appliances. For general servers without Wi-Fi mesh use, urgency is lower but still requires normal kernel patch governance because affected-version evidence is incomplete.

Technical view

The fix mitigates attacks where an adversary turns a standard MSDU into an A-MSDU in mesh networks. The kernel now detects suspicious frames by parsing mesh headers and checking for an RFC1042 header pattern after the Mesh Control header. The source states testing covered mesh and non-mesh cases with mac80211_hwsim.

Likely exposure

Likely exposure is limited to Linux systems using Wi-Fi mesh networking on affected kernels. The source bundle does not identify specific distributions beyond a Debian LTS advisory reference, device classes, CVSS score, or required attacker proximity.

Exploitation context

The CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided bundle. The sources discuss attack prevention and testing, but do not provide evidence of active exploitation in the wild. Treat exploitation status as unconfirmed.

Researcher notes

This appears to address an IEEE 802.11 mesh-specific A-MSDU spoofing gap related to FragAttacks and CVE-2020-24588/CVE-2025-27558. The bundle provides kernel commit references and test notes, but no CVSS, CWE, exploit telemetry, or detailed distribution matrix.

Mitigation direction

  • Check vendor kernel advisories for CVE-2025-38512 fixes.
  • Update affected Linux kernels to a vendor-supported fixed build.
  • Prioritize devices using Wi-Fi mesh functionality.
  • Track Debian LTS guidance if using Debian-packaged kernels.
  • Avoid assuming non-mesh Wi-Fi exposure without vendor confirmation.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux systems with Wi-Fi mesh networking enabled.
  • Map kernel versions against vendor CVE-2025-38512 advisories.
  • Confirm patched kernels include the referenced stable commits.
  • Review distribution advisories for backported fixes.
  • Document systems where mesh Wi-Fi is disabled or absent.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
8

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

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2025-38512 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
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
1ADP providers
7Source 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.

ADP provider summaries

CVECVE Program Container
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux79720743421753ff72bfa0d79976c534645b81c1, 986e43b19ae9176093da35e0a844e65c8bf9ede7, 986e43b19ae9176093da35e0a844e65c8bf9ede7, 986e43b19ae9176093da35e0a844e65c8bf9ede7, 986e43b19ae9176093da35e0a844e65c8bf9ede7, 6.1.107unaffected
LinuxLinux6.3, 0, 6.1.146, 6.6.99, 6.12.39, 6.15.7, 6.16affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.