Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-22002

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.21 / 6.13.9 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Call `invalidate_cache` only if implemented Many filesystems such as NFS and Ceph do not implement the `invalidate_cache` method. On those filesystems, if writing to the cache (`NETFS_WRITE_TO_CACHE`) fails for some reason, the kernel crashes like this: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 #PF: supervisor instruction fetch in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0010) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0010 [#1] SMP PTI CPU: 9 UID: 0 PID: 3380 Comm: kworker/u193:11 Not tainted 6.13.3-cm4all1-hp #437 Hardware name: HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9/ProLiant DL380 Gen9, BIOS P89 10/17/2018 Workqueue: events_unbound netfs_write_collection_worker RIP: 0010:0x0 Code: Unable to access opcode bytes at 0xffffffffffffffd6. RSP: 0018:ffff9b86e2ca7dc0 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 7fffffffffffffff RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: ffff89259d576a18 RDI: ffff89259d576900 RBP: ffff89259d5769b0 R08: ffff9b86e2ca7d28 R09: 0000000000000002 R10: ffff89258ceaca80 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000020 R13: ffff893d158b9338 R14: ffff89259d576900 R15: ffff89259d5769b0 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff893c9fa40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: ffffffffffffffd6 CR3: 000000054442e003 CR4: 00000000001706f0 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die+0x1f/0x60 ? page_fault_oops+0x15c/0x460 ? try_to_wake_up+0x2d2/0x530 ? exc_page_fault+0x5e/0x100 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30 netfs_write_collection_worker+0xe9f/0x12b0 ? xs_poll_check_readable+0x3f/0x80 ? xs_stream_data_receive_workfn+0x8d/0x110 process_one_work+0x134/0x2d0 worker_thread+0x299/0x3a0 ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 kthread+0xba/0xe0 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x30/0x50 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Modules linked in: CR2: 0000000000000000 This patch adds the missing `NULL` check.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.8, < 6.12.21>= 6.13, < 6.13.9= 6.14

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.12.21 / 6.13.9 or later
Fixed in 6.12.216.13.9
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.12.21, 6.13.9, or 6.14.1+ (whichever falls within your current kernel branch)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine the appropriate fixed kernel version based on your distribution's kernel branch: for 6.8-6.12.x upgrade to >= 6.12.21, for 6.13.x upgrade to >= 6.13.9, for 6.14.x upgrade to >= 6.14.1
  3. Update the kernel package via your distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>` for Debian/Ubuntu, `yum update kernel` for RHEL/CentOS, or `pacman -Syu` for Arch)
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking that the `invalidate_cache` function pointer is checked for NULL before being called in the netfs code, or simply confirm the new kernel version is running with `uname -r`
Caveat Major kernel upgrades may require rebuilding third-party kernel modules; ensure compatibility with system drivers and software before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-22002 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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