A monitor interface can be set active while it has no transmit queue, which causes the ath9k driver to dereference a null pointer and crash the kernel. The resulting panic renders the system inoperable and requires a reboot to recover.

All Linux kernel distributions that include the mac80211 stack and the ath9k Wi‑Fi driver are vulnerable. The flaw is exposed when a user with CAP_NET_ADMIN issues "iw dev X set monitor active" on a down interface and subsequently brings that interface up.

The flaw can be exploited by any user who can obtain CAP_NET_ADMIN privileges, which is a relatively low‑level privilege commonly assigned to system administrators. Because the API requires a direct command sequence and the kernel is not able to detect the missing queue, there is no network‑based attack vector. The EPSS score is <1%, indicating a very low exploitation probability. The CVSS score of 5.5 indicates a medium severity. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV, indicating it has not been observed in widespread exploitation. Nonetheless, the crash would cause a denial of service to all services running on the kernel, including network stack and any critical daemons.