---
id: CVE-2021-38206
title: >-
  The mac80211 subsystem in the Linux kernel before 5.12.13, when a device
  supporting only 5 GHz is used, allows attackers to cause a denial of service
  (NULL pointer dereference in the radiotap parser) by injecting a frame with
  802.11a rates.
summary: >-
  The mac80211 subsystem in the Linux kernel before 5.12.13, when a device
  supporting only 5 GHz is used, allows attackers to cause a denial of service
  (NULL pointer dereference in the radiotap parser) by injecting a frame with
  802.11a rates.
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-476
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - linux_kernel < 5.12.13
patched:
  - linux_kernel 5.12.13
published: '2021-08-08'
updated: '2026-10-08'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-08T21:17:39.517'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38206'
references:
  - url: 'https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.12.13'
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/bddc0c411a45d3718ac535a070f349be8eca8d48
    label: cve@mitre.org
  - url: 'https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.12.13'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/bddc0c411a45d3718ac535a070f349be8eca8d48
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00269
epssPercentile: 0.17453
ingestedAt: '2026-10-08T22:11:53.740Z'
---

## Overview

The mac80211 subsystem in the Linux kernel before 5.12.13, when a device supporting only 5 GHz is used, allows attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference in the radiotap parser) by injecting a frame with 802.11a rates.

## Affected

- `linux_kernel < 5.12.13`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 5.12.13`