NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2025-21744

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: brcmfmac: fix NULL pointer dereference in brcmf_txfinalize() On removal of the device or unloading of the kernel module a potential NULL pointer dereference occurs. The following sequence deletes the interface: brcmf_detach() brcmf_remove_interface() brcmf_del_if() Inside the brcmf_del_if() function the drvr->if2bss[ifidx] is updated to BRCMF_BSSIDX_INVALID (-1) if the bsscfgidx matches. After brcmf_remove_interface() call the brcmf_proto_detach() function is called providing the following sequence: brcmf_detach() brcmf_proto_detach() brcmf_proto_msgbuf_detach() brcmf_flowring_detach() brcmf_msgbuf_delete_flowring() brcmf_msgbuf_remove_flowring() brcmf_flowring_delete() brcmf_get_ifp() brcmf_txfinalize() Since brcmf_get_ip() can and actually will return NULL in this case the call to brcmf_txfinalize() will result in a NULL pointer dereference inside brcmf_txfinalize() when trying to update ifp->ndev->stats.tx_errors. This will only happen if a flowring still has an skb. Although the NULL pointer dereference has only been seen when trying to update the tx statistic, all other uses of the ifp pointer have been guarded as well with an early return if ifp is NULL.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (15.4th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 15th percentile — 15.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-21744: held from 0.002 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.003 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 6.6.78, 9119232cc92a269d7860b4aa51f07d3923a3cc10, 5.10.235
  • Linux Kernel

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-21744?
CVE-2025-21744 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-02-27.
How severe is CVE-2025-21744?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-21744 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.