Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-38348
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: wifi: p54: prevent buffer-overflow in p54_rx_eeprom_readback() Robert Morris reported: |If a malicious USB device pretends to be an Intersil p54 wifi |interface and generates an eeprom_readback message with a large |eeprom->v1.len, p54_rx_eeprom_readback() will copy data from the |message beyond the end of priv->eeprom. | |static void p54_rx_eeprom_readback(struct p54_common *priv, | struct sk_buff *skb) |{ | struct p54_hdr *hdr = (struct p54_hdr *) skb->data; | struct p54_eeprom_lm86 *eeprom = (struct p54_eeprom_lm86 *) hdr->data; | | if (priv->fw_var >= 0x509) { | memcpy(priv->eeprom, eeprom->v2.data, | le16_to_cpu(eeprom->v2.len)); | } else { | memcpy(priv->eeprom, eeprom->v1.data, | le16_to_cpu(eeprom->v1.len)); | } | [...] The eeprom->v{1,2}.len is set by the driver in p54_download_eeprom(). The device is supposed to provide the same length back to the driver. But yes, it's possible (like shown in the report) to alter the value to something that causes a crash/panic due to overrun. This patch addresses the issue by adding the size to the common device context, so p54_rx_eeprom_readback no longer relies on possibly tampered values... That said, it also checks if the "firmware" altered the value and no longer copies them. The one, small saving grace is: Before the driver tries to read the eeprom, it needs to upload >a< firmware. the vendor firmware has a proprietary license and as a reason, it is not present on most distributions by default.
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 program writes past the bounds of a buffer, overwriting adjacent memory an attacker can turn to their advantage. Crafted input can overwrite control data and redirect execution. Remediation is validating every index and length before a write, plus modern memory-safety mitigations.
General guidance for the out-of-bounds write 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
>= 2.6.28, < 5.4.295>= 5.5, < 5.10.239>= 5.11, < 5.15.186>= 5.16, < 6.1.142>= 6.2, < 6.6.95>= 6.7, < 6.12.35>= 6.13, < 6.15.4
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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 · scoped5.4.2955.10.2395.15.186
Linux Kernel 5.4.295+, 5.10.239+, 5.15.186+, or 6.1.142+ (or distribution-provided kernel >= these versions)
- 1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
- 2. Check if the installed kernel version is vulnerable based on the affected version ranges (< 5.4.295, < 5.10.239, < 5.15.186, or < 6.1.142)
- 3. For Debian 11 (Bullseye), check for available kernel updates via 'apt update' and 'apt-cache policy linux-image-*'
- 4. Upgrade to a fixed kernel version appropriate for your distribution (e.g., Debian 11.13 or later kernel updates)
- 5. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
- 6. Verify the new kernel version is running with 'uname -r' and confirm the fix is applied
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-2025-38348 — 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-2025-38348 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
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