Linux Kernel General Protection Fault Vulnerability in mac80211 Component

A general protection fault vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel's mac80211 component. This issue arises in the 'ieee80211_subif_start_xmit()' function when the interface status is changed while the device is active. The vulnerability occurs because the transmission queue continues to send packets even after the 'bss' (Basic Service Set) is set to NULL. This leads to a null pointer dereference, causing a general protection fault. The vulnerability can be triggered by a race condition between two threads: one changing the interface type and the other processing work, which ultimately accesses a NULL pointer.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability causes a general protection fault, likely due to a non-canonical address, leading to a null pointer dereference.