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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38189

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.35 / 6.15.4 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: drm/v3d: Avoid NULL pointer dereference in `v3d_job_update_stats()` The following kernel Oops was recently reported by Mesa CI: [ 800.139824] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000588 [ 800.148619] Mem abort info: [ 800.151402] ESR = 0x0000000096000005 [ 800.155141] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits [ 800.160444] SET = 0, FnV = 0 [ 800.163488] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 [ 800.166619] FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault [ 800.171487] Data abort info: [ 800.174357] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000005, ISS2 = 0x00000000 [ 800.179832] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 [ 800.184873] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [ 800.190176] user pgtable: 4k pages, 39-bit VAs, pgdp=00000001014c2000 [ 800.196607] [0000000000000588] pgd=0000000000000000, p4d=0000000000000000, pud=0000000000000000 [ 800.205305] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000005 [#1] PREEMPT SMP [ 800.211564] Modules linked in: vc4 snd_soc_hdmi_codec drm_display_helper v3d cec gpu_sched drm_dma_helper drm_shmem_helper drm_kms_helper drm drm_panel_orientation_quirks snd_soc_core snd_compress snd_pcm_dmaengine snd_pcm i2c_brcmstb snd_timer snd backlight [ 800.234448] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.12.25+rpt-rpi-v8 #1 Debian 1:6.12.25-1+rpt1 [ 800.244182] Hardware name: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.4 (DT) [ 800.250005] pstate: 600000c5 (nZCv daIF -PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 800.256959] pc : v3d_job_update_stats+0x60/0x130 [v3d] [ 800.262112] lr : v3d_job_update_stats+0x48/0x130 [v3d] [ 800.267251] sp : ffffffc080003e60 [ 800.270555] x29: ffffffc080003e60 x28: ffffffd842784980 x27: 0224012000000000 [ 800.277687] x26: ffffffd84277f630 x25: ffffff81012fd800 x24: 0000000000000020 [ 800.284818] x23: ffffff8040238b08 x22: 0000000000000570 x21: 0000000000000158 [ 800.291948] x20: 0000000000000000 x19: ffffff8040238000 x18: 0000000000000000 [ 800.299078] x17: ffffffa8c1bd2000 x16: ffffffc080000000 x15: 0000000000000000 [ 800.306208] x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000 [ 800.313338] x11: 0000000000000040 x10: 0000000000001a40 x9 : ffffffd83b39757c [ 800.320468] x8 : ffffffd842786420 x7 : 7fffffffffffffff x6 : 0000000000ef32b0 [ 800.327598] x5 : 00ffffffffffffff x4 : 0000000000000015 x3 : ffffffd842784980 [ 800.334728] x2 : 0000000000000004 x1 : 0000000000010002 x0 : 000000ba4c0ca382 [ 800.341859] Call trace: [ 800.344294] v3d_job_update_stats+0x60/0x130 [v3d] [ 800.349086] v3d_irq+0x124/0x2e0 [v3d] [ 800.352835] __handle_irq_event_percpu+0x58/0x218 [ 800.357539] handle_irq_event+0x54/0xb8 [ 800.361369] handle_fasteoi_irq+0xac/0x240 [ 800.365458] handle_irq_desc+0x48/0x68 [ 800.369200] generic_handle_domain_irq+0x24/0x38 [ 800.373810] gic_handle_irq+0x48/0xd8 [ 800.377464] call_on_irq_stack+0x24/0x58 [ 800.381379] do_interrupt_handler+0x88/0x98 [ 800.385554] el1_interrupt+0x34/0x68 [ 800.389123] el1h_64_irq_handler+0x18/0x28 [ 800.393211] el1h_64_irq+0x64/0x68 [ 800.396603] default_idle_call+0x3c/0x168 [ 800.400606] do_idle+0x1fc/0x230 [ 800.403827] cpu_startup_entry+0x40/0x50 [ 800.407742] rest_init+0xe4/0xf0 [ 800.410962] start_kernel+0x5e8/0x790 [ 800.414616] __primary_switched+0x80/0x90 [ 800.418622] Code: 8b170277 8b160296 11000421 b9000861 (b9401ac1) [ 800.424707] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- [ 800.457313] ---[ end Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops: Fatal exception in interrupt ]--- This issue happens when the file descriptor is closed before the jobs submitted by it are completed. When the job completes, we update the global GPU stats and the per-fd GPU stats, which are exposed through fdinfo. If the file descriptor was closed, then the struct `v3d_file_priv` and its stats were already freed and we can't update the per-fd stats. Therefore, if the file descriptor was already closed, don't u ---truncated---

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:>= 4.18, < 6.12.35>= 6.13, < 6.15.4= 6.16

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 6.12.35 / 6.15.4 or later
Fixed in 6.12.356.15.4
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.12.35+ (for 6.12.y branch) or 6.15.4+ (for 6.13.y/6.14.y/6.15.y branches)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. If running a version < 6.12.35 (such as 6.12.25), upgrade to kernel version 6.12.35 or later
  3. If running version 6.13.x, 6.14.x, or 6.15.0-6.15.3, upgrade to kernel version 6.15.4 or later
  4. If running version 6.16, upgrade to a version with the fix applied (6.16.1 or later if available)
  5. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and the presence of the patch in `v3d_job_update_stats()` function if needed
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce changes to APIs or driver behavior; ensure compatibility with user-space tools and verify that dependent modules (like Mesa/GPU drivers) work correctly with the new kernel 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 $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-2025-38189 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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