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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-37897

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.138 / 6.6.90 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: wifi: plfxlc: Remove erroneous assert in plfxlc_mac_release plfxlc_mac_release() asserts that mac->lock is held. This assertion is incorrect, because even if it was possible, it would not be the valid behaviour. The function is used when probe fails or after the device is disconnected. In both cases mac->lock can not be held as the driver is not working with the device at the moment. All functions that use mac->lock unlock it just after it was held. There is also no need to hold mac->lock for plfxlc_mac_release() itself, as mac data is not affected, except for mac->flags, which is modified atomically. This bug leads to the following warning: ================================================================ WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 127 at drivers/net/wireless/purelifi/plfxlc/mac.c:106 plfxlc_mac_release+0x7d/0xa0 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 PID: 127 Comm: kworker/0:2 Not tainted 6.1.124-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 09/13/2024 Workqueue: usb_hub_wq hub_event RIP: 0010:plfxlc_mac_release+0x7d/0xa0 drivers/net/wireless/purelifi/plfxlc/mac.c:106 Call Trace: <TASK> probe+0x941/0xbd0 drivers/net/wireless/purelifi/plfxlc/usb.c:694 usb_probe_interface+0x5c0/0xaf0 drivers/usb/core/driver.c:396 really_probe+0x2ab/0xcb0 drivers/base/dd.c:639 __driver_probe_device+0x1a2/0x3d0 drivers/base/dd.c:785 driver_probe_device+0x50/0x420 drivers/base/dd.c:815 __device_attach_driver+0x2cf/0x510 drivers/base/dd.c:943 bus_for_each_drv+0x183/0x200 drivers/base/bus.c:429 __device_attach+0x359/0x570 drivers/base/dd.c:1015 bus_probe_device+0xba/0x1e0 drivers/base/bus.c:489 device_add+0xb48/0xfd0 drivers/base/core.c:3696 usb_set_configuration+0x19dd/0x2020 drivers/usb/core/message.c:2165 usb_generic_driver_probe+0x84/0x140 drivers/usb/core/generic.c:238 usb_probe_device+0x130/0x260 drivers/usb/core/driver.c:293 really_probe+0x2ab/0xcb0 drivers/base/dd.c:639 __driver_probe_device+0x1a2/0x3d0 drivers/base/dd.c:785 driver_probe_device+0x50/0x420 drivers/base/dd.c:815 __device_attach_driver+0x2cf/0x510 drivers/base/dd.c:943 bus_for_each_drv+0x183/0x200 drivers/base/bus.c:429 __device_attach+0x359/0x570 drivers/base/dd.c:1015 bus_probe_device+0xba/0x1e0 drivers/base/bus.c:489 device_add+0xb48/0xfd0 drivers/base/core.c:3696 usb_new_device+0xbdd/0x18f0 drivers/usb/core/hub.c:2620 hub_port_connect drivers/usb/core/hub.c:5477 [inline] hub_port_connect_change drivers/usb/core/hub.c:5617 [inline] port_event drivers/usb/core/hub.c:5773 [inline] hub_event+0x2efe/0x5730 drivers/usb/core/hub.c:5855 process_one_work+0x8a9/0x11d0 kernel/workqueue.c:2292 worker_thread+0xa47/0x1200 kernel/workqueue.c:2439 kthread+0x28d/0x320 kernel/kthread.c:376 ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:295 </TASK> ================================================================ Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.

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-617

Attacker-controllable input can reach an assertion that aborts the process when it fails, so a check meant for debugging becomes a denial-of-service in production. A single crafted request takes the service down. The fix is to handle unexpected input gracefully on reachable paths rather than asserting on it.

General guidance for the reachable assertion 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:>= 5.19, < 6.1.138>= 6.2, < 6.6.90>= 6.7, < 6.12.28>= 6.13, < 6.14.6= 6.15
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0

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 6.1.138 / 6.6.90 / 6.12.28 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1386.6.906.12.28
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.1.138 or later (if on 6.1.x), 6.6.90 or later (if on 6.2-6.6.x), 6.12.28 or later (if on 6.7-6.11.x), or 6.14.6 or later (if on 6.13-6.14.x)

  1. Check current kernel version with `uname -r`
  2. Identify which version branch the current kernel follows (e.g., 6.1.x, 6.2.x, 6.7.x, 6.13.x)
  3. Upgrade to a fixed kernel version: for 6.1.x branch use >=6.1.138, for 6.2-6.6.x use >=6.6.90, for 6.7-6.11.x use >=6.12.28, for 6.13-6.14.x use >=6.14.6
  4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the fix by checking that the warning no longer appears in dmesg
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching kernel modules; ensure all wireless drivers and dependencies are compatible with the new version

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. 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-2025-37897 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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