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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-37972

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.139 / 6.6.91 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: Input: mtk-pmic-keys - fix possible null pointer dereference In mtk_pmic_keys_probe, the regs parameter is only set if the button is parsed in the device tree. However, on hardware where the button is left floating, that node will most likely be removed not to enable that input. In that case the code will try to dereference a null pointer. Let's use the regs struct instead as it is defined for all supported platforms. Note that it is ok setting the key reg even if that latter is disabled as the interrupt won't be enabled anyway.

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:>= 6.0, < 6.1.139>= 6.2, < 6.6.91>= 6.7, < 6.12.29>= 6.13, < 6.14.7= 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 6.1.139 / 6.6.91 / 6.12.29 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1396.6.916.12.29
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux kernel 6.1.139 or later (for 6.0-6.1.x), 6.6.91 or later (for 6.2-6.6.x), 6.12.29 or later (for 6.7-6.12.x), or 6.14.7 or later (for 6.13-6.14.x). For Debian 11, upgrade to a kernel version that includes the fix.

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. For Debian 11, check for available kernel updates via 'apt update && apt-cache policy linux-image-*'
  3. If a fixed kernel version is available in repositories, upgrade using 'apt update && apt-get install linux-image-<version>'
  4. If no fixed kernel is available in repositories, manually download and install a fixed upstream kernel from https://kernel.org/
  5. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches or exceeds the fixed releases (6.1.139, 6.6.91, 6.12.29, or 6.14.7 depending on your kernel branch)
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding third-party kernel modules; ensure compatibility with existing system components 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-2025-37972 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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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