Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-38027
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: regulator: max20086: fix invalid memory access max20086_parse_regulators_dt() calls of_regulator_match() using an array of struct of_regulator_match allocated on the stack for the matches argument. of_regulator_match() calls devm_of_regulator_put_matches(), which calls devres_alloc() to allocate a struct devm_of_regulator_matches which will be de-allocated using devm_of_regulator_put_matches(). struct devm_of_regulator_matches is populated with the stack allocated matches array. If the device fails to probe, devm_of_regulator_put_matches() will be called and will try to call of_node_put() on that stack pointer, generating the following dmesg entries: max20086 6-0028: Failed to read DEVICE_ID reg: -121 kobject: '\xc0$\xa5\x03' (000000002cebcb7a): is not initialized, yet kobject_put() is being called. Followed by a stack trace matching the call flow described above. Switch to allocating the matches array using devm_kcalloc() to avoid accessing the stack pointer long after it's out of scope. This also has the advantage of allowing multiple max20086 to probe without overriding the data stored inside the global of_regulator_match.
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 analysisThe code reads past the end (or before the start) of a buffer, returning memory that was never meant to be exposed. Attackers use it to leak secrets like keys or to defeat memory-protection defences. Remediation is validating indices and lengths before every read.
General guidance for the out-of-bounds read 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
>= 5.17, < 6.1.140>= 6.2, < 6.6.92>= 6.7, < 6.12.30>= 6.13, < 6.14.8= 6.15
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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 · scoped6.1.1406.6.926.12.30
Upgrade to kernel 6.1.140+, 6.6.92+, 6.12.30+, or 6.14.8+ (depending on which branch you are on)
- Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
- Check which kernel branch your current version belongs to (e.g., 6.1.x, 6.6.x, 6.7.x, 6.13.x, or 6.14.x)
- For Debian 11 systems: upgrade the kernel package to a version that includes the fix (check Debian security advisories for kernel updates)
- For upstream Linux: upgrade to kernel version 6.1.140 or later (for 6.1.y branch), 6.6.92 or later (for 6.6.y branch), 6.12.30 or later (for 6.12.y branch), or 6.14.8 or later (for 6.14.y branch)
- Reboot the system to apply the new kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the max20086 driver loads without the described errors in dmesg
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-2025-38027 — 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-2025-38027 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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