A vulnerability has been identified in the RTLWIFI driver, which is used to support Realtek Wi-Fi chips on Linux systems. The flaw in the driver could be exploited to destroy your device or even allow a hacker to take complete control of your system.
The bug has existed here for at least four years and is characterized as «critical» by security experts. It has been named CVE-2019-17666 and although a solution has been proposed to fix it, it has not yet been incorporated into the Linux kernel.
As Ars Technica notes, even if the patch is included in a future kernel update, users will have to wait a while for it to be included in Linux distros – and that could take some time.
Perhaps most interestingly, the attack can be triggered remotely, without any user intervention. Any Linux device with a Realtek chip is at risk, provided that Wi-Fi is enabled and it is in close proximity to a malicious machine.
Essentially, it exploits a vulnerability in a power-saving feature called Notice of Absence, which is built into Wi-Fi Direct (a standard that allows devices to connect to each other without a router). A hacker could add vendor-specific information to Wi-Fi beacons, which would cause a buffer overflow in the Linux kernel.
Both desktops and laptops with Linux distributions installed, as well as Android phones equipped with Realtek Wi-Fi chips, are vulnerable to the vulnerability.
