Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-37816
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mei: vsc: Fix fortify-panic caused by invalid counted_by() use gcc 15 honors the __counted_by(len) attribute on vsc_tp_packet.buf[] and the vsc-tp.c code is using this in a wrong way. len does not contain the available size in the buffer, it contains the actual packet length *without* the crc. So as soon as vsc_tp_xfer() tries to add the crc to buf[] the fortify-panic handler gets triggered: [ 80.842193] memcpy: detected buffer overflow: 4 byte write of buffer size 0 [ 80.842243] WARNING: CPU: 4 PID: 272 at lib/string_helpers.c:1032 __fortify_report+0x45/0x50 ... [ 80.843175] __fortify_panic+0x9/0xb [ 80.843186] vsc_tp_xfer.cold+0x67/0x67 [mei_vsc_hw] [ 80.843210] ? seqcount_lockdep_reader_access.constprop.0+0x82/0x90 [ 80.843229] ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x7c/0x110 [ 80.843250] mei_vsc_hw_start+0x98/0x120 [mei_vsc] [ 80.843270] mei_reset+0x11d/0x420 [mei] The easiest fix would be to just drop the counted-by but with the exception of the ack buffer in vsc_tp_xfer_helper() which only contains enough room for the packet-header, all other uses of vsc_tp_packet always use a buffer of VSC_TP_MAX_XFER_SIZE bytes for the packet. Instead of just dropping the counted-by, split the vsc_tp_packet struct definition into a header and a full-packet definition and use a fixed size buf[] in the packet definition, this way fortify-source buffer overrun checking still works when enabled.
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 analysisA detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.
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, < 6.12.26>= 6.13, < 6.14.5= 6.15CVSS 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+ or 6.14.5+ (depending on which stable branch you are on)
- Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
- Check if the current version is affected: >= 6.8 and < 6.12.26, or >= 6.13 and < 6.14.5, or = 6.15
- For systems running kernel 6.8-6.12.x: upgrade to kernel 6.12.26 or later
- For systems running kernel 6.13-6.14.x: upgrade to kernel 6.14.5 or later
- For systems running kernel 6.15: upgrade to kernel 6.14.5 or later (6.15 is vulnerable, no later stable branch exists yet)
- Apply the upgrade via your distribution's package manager (e.g., 'apt update && apt upgrade' for Debian/Ubuntu, 'dnf update' for Fedora/RHEL)
- Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version after reboot
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with proprietary kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; 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 $1,600.
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-37816 in production — separate from our analysis above.
Know something about CVE-2025-37816?
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
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