CVE-2025-71127

A beacon protection bypass vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel's mac80211 WiFi stack. According to IEEE 802.11-2020, beacon frames must be sent to the broadcast address, but mac80211 incorrectly accepts unicast beacon frames with the Protected Frame bit set to 1. This allows attackers to send targeted unicast beacons that bypass beacon protection (BIGTK verification), potentially forcing associated stations to perform malicious actions like channel switching via CSA.

This vulnerability affects WiFi clients using mac80211-based drivers. An attacker within wireless range can send crafted unicast beacon frames to target specific stations, bypassing beacon protection mechanisms. This could be used to force channel switches or other beacon-triggered behaviors. The attack requires proximity to the target WiFi network.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.