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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38558

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.15.10 / 6.16.1 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: usb: gadget: uvc: Initialize frame-based format color matching descriptor Fix NULL pointer crash in uvcg_framebased_make due to uninitialized color matching descriptor for frame-based format which was added in commit f5e7bdd34aca ("usb: gadget: uvc: Allow creating new color matching descriptors") that added handling for uncompressed and mjpeg format. Crash is seen when userspace configuration (via configfs) does not explicitly define the color matching descriptor. If color_matching is not found, config_group_find_item() returns NULL. The code then jumps to out_put_cm, where it calls config_item_put(color_matching);. If color_matching is NULL, this will dereference a null pointer, leading to a crash. [ 2.746440] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 000000000000008c [ 2.756273] Mem abort info: [ 2.760080] ESR = 0x0000000096000005 [ 2.764872] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits [ 2.771068] SET = 0, FnV = 0 [ 2.771069] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 [ 2.771070] FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault [ 2.771071] Data abort info: [ 2.771072] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000005, ISS2 = 0x00000000 [ 2.771073] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 [ 2.771074] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [ 2.771075] user pgtable: 4k pages, 39-bit VAs, pgdp=00000000a3e59000 [ 2.771077] [000000000000008c] pgd=0000000000000000, p4d=0000000000000000, pud=0000000000000000 [ 2.771081] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000005 [#1] PREEMPT SMP [ 2.771084] Dumping ftrace buffer: [ 2.771085] (ftrace buffer empty) [ 2.771138] CPU: 7 PID: 486 Comm: ln Tainted: G W E 6.6.58-android15 [ 2.771139] Hardware name: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. SunP QRD HDK (DT) [ 2.771140] pstate: 61400005 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ 2.771141] pc : __uvcg_fill_strm+0x198/0x2cc [ 2.771145] lr : __uvcg_iter_strm_cls+0xc8/0x17c [ 2.771146] sp : ffffffc08140bbb0 [ 2.771146] x29: ffffffc08140bbb0 x28: ffffff803bc81380 x27: ffffff8023bbd250 [ 2.771147] x26: ffffff8023bbd250 x25: ffffff803c361348 x24: ffffff803d8e6768 [ 2.771148] x23: 0000000000000004 x22: 0000000000000003 x21: ffffffc08140bc48 [ 2.771149] x20: 0000000000000000 x19: ffffffc08140bc48 x18: ffffffe9f8cf4a00 [ 2.771150] x17: 000000001bf64ec3 x16: 000000001bf64ec3 x15: ffffff8023bbd250 [ 2.771151] x14: 000000000000000f x13: 004c4b40000f4240 x12: 000a2c2a00051615 [ 2.771152] x11: 000000000000004f x10: ffffffe9f76b40ec x9 : ffffffe9f7e389d0 [ 2.771153] x8 : ffffff803d0d31ce x7 : 000f4240000a2c2a x6 : 0005161500028b0a [ 2.771154] x5 : ffffff803d0d31ce x4 : 0000000000000003 x3 : 0000000000000000 [ 2.771155] x2 : ffffffc08140bc50 x1 : ffffffc08140bc48 x0 : 0000000000000000 [ 2.771156] Call trace: [ 2.771157] __uvcg_fill_strm+0x198/0x2cc [ 2.771157] __uvcg_iter_strm_cls+0xc8/0x17c [ 2.771158] uvcg_streaming_class_allow_link+0x240/0x290 [ 2.771159] configfs_symlink+0x1f8/0x630 [ 2.771161] vfs_symlink+0x114/0x1a0 [ 2.771163] do_symlinkat+0x94/0x28c [ 2.771164] __arm64_sys_symlinkat+0x54/0x70 [ 2.771164] invoke_syscall+0x58/0x114 [ 2.771166] el0_svc_common+0x80/0xe0 [ 2.771168] do_el0_svc+0x1c/0x28 [ 2.771169] el0_svc+0x3c/0x70 [ 2.771172] el0t_64_sync_handler+0x68/0xbc [ 2.771173] el0t_64_sync+0x1a8/0x1ac Initialize color matching descriptor for frame-based format to prevent NULL pointer crash by mirroring the handling done for uncompressed and mjpeg formats.

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:>= 6.13, < 6.15.10>= 6.16, < 6.16.1

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 6.15.10 / 6.16.1 or later
Fixed in 6.15.106.16.1
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.15.10+ or 6.16.1+

  1. Upgrade Linux kernel to version 6.15.10 or later (for the 6.15.y branch)
  2. Alternatively, upgrade to version 6.16.1 or later (for the 6.16.y branch)
  3. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree modules; ensure driver compatibility 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-2025-38558 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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