CVE-2013-4579

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Published 2013-11-20 · Modified 2026-04-29

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CVSS v3

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CVSS v4 NEW

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not yet in upstream

VIR risk

5.3

Description

The ath9k_htc_set_bssid_mask function in drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_drv_main.c in the Linux kernel through 3.12 uses a BSSID masking approach to determine the set of MAC addresses on which a Wi-Fi device is listening, which allows remote attackers to discover the original MAC address after spoofing by sending a series of packets to MAC addresses with certain bit manipulations.

Predictions

Exploit likelihood

55%

Patch ETA

—

Heuristic predictions, AS-IS, for prioritization only.

Mitigations

Mitigation details

Source: Debian Security Tracker · View original ↗ · DFSG

CVE-2013-4579 NameCVE-2013-4579 DescriptionThe ath9k_htc_set_bssid_mask function in drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_drv_main.c in the Linux kernel through 3.12 uses a BSSID masking approach to determine the set of MAC addresses on which a Wi-Fi device is listening, which allows remote attackers to discover the original MAC address after spoofing by sending a series of packets to MAC addresses…

CVE-2013-4579

Name	CVE-2013-4579
Description	The ath9k_htc_set_bssid_mask function in drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/htc_drv_main.c in the Linux kernel through 3.12 uses a BSSID masking approach to determine the set of MAC addresses on which a Wi-Fi device is listening, which allows remote attackers to discover the original MAC address after spoofing by sending a series of packets to MAC addresses with certain bit manipulations.
Source	CVE (at NVD; CERT, ENISA, LWN, oss-sec, fulldisc, Debian ELTS, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Gentoo, SUSE bugzilla/CVE, GitHub advisories/code/issues, web search, more)
Debian Bugs	729573

Vulnerable and fixed packages

The table below lists information on source packages.

Source Package	Release	Version	Status
linux (PTS)	bullseye	5.10.223-1	fixed
	bullseye (security)	5.10.257-1	fixed
	bookworm	6.1.170-3	fixed
	bookworm (security)	6.1.174-1	fixed
	trixie	6.12.86-1	fixed
	trixie (security)	6.12.90-2	fixed
	forky	7.0.9-1	fixed
	sid	7.0.10-1	fixed

The information below is based on the following data on fixed versions.

Package	Type	Release	Fixed Version	Debian Bugs
linux	source	wheezy	3.2.54-1
linux	source	(unstable)	3.12.8-1	729573
linux-2.6	source	(unstable)	(not affected)

Notes

- linux-2.6 <not-affected> (ath9k not yet present)
http://www.mathyvanhoef.com/2013/11/unmasking-spoofed-mac-address.html

Home - Debian Security - Source (Git)

Apply commands

text fix

Notes

- linux-2.6 <not-affected> (ath9k not yet present)http://www.mathyvanhoef.com/2013/11/unmasking-spoofed-mac-address.html

Exploits

Public proof-of-concept code below. AS-IS, for defenders and authorised testing only.

Exploit-DB

EDB-38826 remote linux verified

Mathy Vanhoef · 2013-12-10

Linux Kernel 3.0.5 - 'ath9k_htc_set_bssid_mask()' Information Disclosure

Source code queued for fetch — refresh in a moment.

OS impact

Linux kernel Affected 195 releases

Version	Status	Fixed in
3.8.10	Affected	—
3.8.9	Affected	—
3.8.8	Affected	—
3.8.7	Affected	—
3.8.6	Affected	—
3.8.5	Affected	—
3.8.4	Affected	—
3.8.3	Affected	—
3.8.2	Affected	—
3.8.1	Affected	—
3.8.0	Affected	—
3.7.10	Affected	—
3.7.9	Affected	—
3.7.8	Affected	—
3.7.7	Affected	—
3.7.6	Affected	—
3.7.5	Affected	—
3.7.4	Affected	—
3.7.3	Affected	—
3.7.2	Affected	—
3.7.1	Affected	—
3.7	Affected	—
3.6.11	Affected	—
3.6.10	Affected	—
3.6.9	Affected	—
3.6.8	Affected	—
3.6.7	Affected	—
3.6.6	Affected	—
3.6.5	Affected	—
3.6.4	Affected	—
3.6.3	Affected	—
3.6.2	Affected	—
3.6.1	Affected	—
3.6	Affected	—
3.5.7	Affected	—
3.5.6	Affected	—
3.5.5	Affected	—
3.5.4	Affected	—
3.5.3	Affected	—
3.5.2	Affected	—
3.5.1	Affected	—
3.4.32	Affected	—
3.4.31	Affected	—
3.4.30	Affected	—
3.4.29	Affected	—
3.4.28	Affected	—
3.4.27	Affected	—
3.4.26	Affected	—
3.4.25	Affected	—
3.4.24	Affected	—
3.4.23	Affected	—
3.4.22	Affected	—
3.4.21	Affected	—
3.4.20	Affected	—
3.4.19	Affected	—
3.4.18	Affected	—
3.4.17	Affected	—
3.4.16	Affected	—
3.4.15	Affected	—
3.4.14	Affected	—
3.4.13	Affected	—
3.4.12	Affected	—
3.4.11	Affected	—
3.4.10	Affected	—
3.4.9	Affected	—
3.4.8	Affected	—
3.4.7	Affected	—
3.4.6	Affected	—
3.4.5	Affected	—
3.4.4	Affected	—
3.4.3	Affected	—
3.4.2	Affected	—
3.4.1	Affected	—
3.4	Affected	—
3.3.8	Affected	—
3.3.7	Affected	—
3.3.6	Affected	—
3.3.5	Affected	—
3.3.4	Affected	—
3.3.3	Affected	—
3.3.2	Affected	—
3.3.1	Affected	—
3.3	Affected	—
3.2.30	Affected	—
3.2.29	Affected	—
3.2.28	Affected	—
3.2.27	Affected	—
3.2.26	Affected	—
3.2.25	Affected	—
3.2.24	Affected	—
3.2.23	Affected	—
3.2.22	Affected	—
3.2.21	Affected	—
3.2.20	Affected	—
3.2.19	Affected	—
3.2.18	Affected	—
3.2.17	Affected	—
3.2.16	Affected	—
3.2.15	Affected	—
3.2.14	Affected	—
3.2.13	Affected	—
3.2.12	Affected	—
3.2.11	Affected	—
3.2.10	Affected	—
3.2.9	Affected	—
3.2.8	Affected	—
3.2.7	Affected	—
3.2.6	Affected	—
3.2.5	Affected	—
3.2.4	Affected	—
3.2.3	Affected	—
3.2.2	Affected	—
3.2.1	Affected	—
3.2	Affected	—
3.1.10	Affected	—
3.1.9	Affected	—
3.1.8	Affected	—
3.1.7	Affected	—
3.1.6	Affected	—
3.1.5	Affected	—
3.1.4	Affected	—
3.1.3	Affected	—
3.1.2	Affected	—
3.1.1	Affected	—
3.1	Affected	—
3.0.68	Affected	—
3.0.67	Affected	—
3.0.66	Affected	—
3.0.65	Affected	—
3.0.64	Affected	—
3.0.63	Affected	—
3.0.62	Affected	—
3.0.61	Affected	—
3.0.60	Affected	—
3.0.59	Affected	—
3.0.58	Affected	—
3.0.57	Affected	—
3.0.56	Affected	—
3.0.55	Affected	—
3.0.54	Affected	—
3.0.53	Affected	—
3.0.52	Affected	—
3.0.51	Affected	—
3.0.50	Affected	—
3.0.49	Affected	—
3.0.48	Affected	—
3.0.47	Affected	—
3.0.46	Affected	—
3.0.45	Affected	—
3.0.44	Affected	—
3.0.43	Affected	—
3.0.42	Affected	—
3.0.41	Affected	—
3.0.40	Affected	—
3.0.39	Affected	—
3.0.38	Affected	—
3.0.37	Affected	—
3.0.36	Affected	—
3.0.35	Affected	—
3.0.34	Affected	—
3.0.33	Affected	—
3.0.32	Affected	—
3.0.31	Affected	—
3.0.30	Affected	—
3.0.29	Affected	—
3.0.28	Affected	—
3.0.27	Affected	—
3.0.26	Affected	—
3.0.25	Affected	—
3.0.24	Affected	—
3.0.23	Affected	—
3.0.22	Affected	—
3.0.21	Affected	—
3.0.20	Affected	—
3.0.19	Affected	—
3.0.18	Affected	—
3.0.17	Affected	—
3.0.16	Affected	—
3.0.15	Affected	—
3.0.14	Affected	—
3.0.13	Affected	—
3.0.12	Affected	—
3.0.11	Affected	—
3.0.10	Affected	—
3.0.9	Affected	—
3.0.8	Affected	—
3.0.7	Affected	—
3.0.6	Affected	—
3.0.5	Affected	—
3.0.4	Affected	—
3.0.3	Affected	—
3.0.2	Affected	—
3.0.1	Affected	—
3.0	Affected	—
—	Affected	—

Debian Fixed 5 releases

Version	Status	Fixed in
trixie	Fixed	`3.12.8-1`
sid	Fixed	`3.12.8-1`
forky	Fixed	`3.12.8-1`
bullseye	Fixed	`3.12.8-1`
bookworm	Fixed	`3.12.8-1`

References

CWEs

CWE-310

Community-verified mitigations for this CVE will appear above when contributors publish them.

Verify integrity in audit chain (admin only). AS-IS.