Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-23161
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: PCI: vmd: Make vmd_dev::cfg_lock a raw_spinlock_t type The access to the PCI config space via pci_ops::read and pci_ops::write is a low-level hardware access. The functions can be accessed with disabled interrupts even on PREEMPT_RT. The pci_lock is a raw_spinlock_t for this purpose. A spinlock_t becomes a sleeping lock on PREEMPT_RT, so it cannot be acquired with disabled interrupts. The vmd_dev::cfg_lock is accessed in the same context as the pci_lock. Make vmd_dev::cfg_lock a raw_spinlock_t type so it can be used with interrupts disabled. This was reported as: BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context at kernel/locking/spinlock_rt.c:48 Call Trace: rt_spin_lock+0x4e/0x130 vmd_pci_read+0x8d/0x100 [vmd] pci_user_read_config_byte+0x6f/0xe0 pci_read_config+0xfe/0x290 sysfs_kf_bin_read+0x68/0x90 [bigeasy: reword commit message] Tested-off-by: Luis Claudio R. Goncalves <[email protected]> [kwilczynski: commit log] [bhelgaas: add back report info from https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/[email protected]/]
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 analysisShared resources are accessed without correct locking, so concurrent operations interleave into inconsistent — and sometimes exploitable — states, or deadlock the service outright. These bugs are subtle and timing-dependent. The fix is correct, consistent locking or atomic operations around every shared resource.
General guidance for the improper locking 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
< 5.15.181>= 5.16, < 6.1.135>= 6.2, < 6.6.88>= 6.7, < 6.12.24>= 6.13, < 6.13.12>= 6.14, < 6.14.3
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 11.0CVSS 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 · scoped5.15.1816.1.1356.6.88
Upgrade to kernel 5.15.181+ (if on 5.15.x), 6.1.135+ (if on 6.1.x), 6.6.88+ (if on 6.6.x), or 6.12.24+ (if on 6.7-6.12); Debian 11 users should apply available kernel security updates
- Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
- Determine which kernel branch you are on (5.15.x, 6.1.x, 6.6.x, or 6.7.x-6.12.x)
- For Debian 11 (Bullseye) users: Update the kernel package via `apt update && apt upgrade` to get the patched kernel, or manually install a fixed kernel version
- For other Linux distributions: Use your distribution's package manager to upgrade to a fixed kernel version (minimum: 5.15.181, 6.1.135, 6.6.88, or 6.12.24 depending on your branch)
- If building from source: Apply commit 13e5148f70e81991acbe0bab5b1b50ba699116e7 which changes vmd_dev::cfg_lock from spinlock_t to raw_spinlock_t
- Reboot the system into the updated kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches or exceeds the fixed release for your branch
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-23161 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-23161 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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