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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-37806

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.26 / 6.14.5 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: fs/ntfs3: Keep write operations atomic syzbot reported a NULL pointer dereference in __generic_file_write_iter. [1] Before the write operation is completed, the user executes ioctl[2] to clear the compress flag of the file, which causes the is_compressed() judgment to return 0, further causing the program to enter the wrong process and call the wrong ops ntfs_aops_cmpr, which triggers the null pointer dereference of write_begin. Use inode lock to synchronize ioctl and write to avoid this case. [1] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000 Mem abort info: ESR = 0x0000000086000006 EC = 0x21: IABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits SET = 0, FnV = 0 EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 FSC = 0x06: level 2 translation fault user pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=000000011896d000 [0000000000000000] pgd=0800000118b44403, p4d=0800000118b44403, pud=0800000117517403, pmd=0000000000000000 Internal error: Oops: 0000000086000006 [#1] PREEMPT SMP Modules linked in: CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 6427 Comm: syz-executor347 Not tainted 6.13.0-rc3-syzkaller-g573067a5a685 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 09/13/2024 pstate: 80400005 (Nzcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : 0x0 lr : generic_perform_write+0x29c/0x868 mm/filemap.c:4055 sp : ffff80009d4978a0 x29: ffff80009d4979c0 x28: dfff800000000000 x27: ffff80009d497bc8 x26: 0000000000000000 x25: ffff80009d497960 x24: ffff80008ba71c68 x23: 0000000000000000 x22: ffff0000c655dac0 x21: 0000000000001000 x20: 000000000000000c x19: 1ffff00013a92f2c x18: ffff0000e183aa1c x17: 0004060000000014 x16: ffff800083275834 x15: 0000000000000001 x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000001 x12: ffff0000c655dac0 x11: 0000000000ff0100 x10: 0000000000ff0100 x9 : 0000000000000000 x8 : 0000000000000000 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000000 x5 : ffff80009d497980 x4 : ffff80009d497960 x3 : 0000000000001000 x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : ffff0000e183a928 x0 : ffff0000d60b0fc0 Call trace: 0x0 (P) __generic_file_write_iter+0xfc/0x204 mm/filemap.c:4156 ntfs_file_write_iter+0x54c/0x630 fs/ntfs3/file.c:1267 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:586 [inline] vfs_write+0x920/0xcf4 fs/read_write.c:679 ksys_write+0x15c/0x26c fs/read_write.c:731 __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:742 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:739 [inline] __arm64_sys_write+0x7c/0x90 fs/read_write.c:739 __invoke_syscall arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:35 [inline] invoke_syscall+0x98/0x2b8 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:49 el0_svc_common+0x130/0x23c arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:132 do_el0_svc+0x48/0x58 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:151 el0_svc+0x54/0x168 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:744 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x84/0x108 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:762 [2] ioctl$FS_IOC_SETFLAGS(r0, 0x40086602, &(0x7f00000000c0)=0x20)

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:>= 5.15, < 6.12.26>= 6.13, < 6.14.5

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 6.12.26 / 6.14.5 or later
Fixed in 6.12.266.14.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.12.26 (for kernels 5.15-6.12.x) or Linux Kernel 6.14.5 (for kernels 6.13-6.14.x)

  1. 1. Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. 2. Verify the system uses the ntfs3 driver by checking for loaded ntfs3 module: `lsmod | grep ntfs3` or checking if NTFS filesystem is mounted
  3. 3. Plan for a system downtime as kernel upgrade requires reboot
  4. 4. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.12.26 or higher, OR version 6.14.5 or higher (for kernel >= 6.13)
  5. 5. For distribution-specific upgrades: on RHEL/CentOS use `yum update kernel` or `dnf update kernel`; on Ubuntu/Debian use `apt-get install linux-image-<version>`
  6. 6. Verify the new kernel is installed: `rpm -qa | grep kernel` (RHEL) or `dpkg -l | grep linux-image` (Debian)
  7. 7. Set the new kernel as default in boot loader (grub) if not automatic
  8. 8. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with out-of-tree kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; ensure backup and test in staging if possible

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-2025-37806 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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