The rt2x00 wireless driver in the Linux kernel has a flaw in its probe routine. When driver data allocation or work queue allocation fails early, the routine mistakenly invokes the full teardown path that expects work items to be initialized. This mismatch leads to dereferencing of uninitialized structures, resulting in a kernel panic that can prevent the system from booting or functioning normally.

Any Linux system whose kernel contains the rt2x00 driver and has not applied the recent patch is affected. The issue applies to all kernel versions prior to the fix, regardless of whether the system is using a standard distribution kernel or a custom build.

The CVSS base score of 7.8 indicates high severity, but the EPSS score of less than 1% suggests a low probability of exploitation in the wild. The likely attack vector is local or physical access needed to force a probe failure—this inference is drawn from the description that the flaw manifests during driver initialization. If successfully triggered, the improper teardown can cause a kernel panic, leading to a denial of service. The issue is not listed in CISA KEV, implying no known active exploitation.