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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38610

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.148 / 6.6.102 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: powercap: dtpm_cpu: Fix NULL pointer dereference in get_pd_power_uw() The get_pd_power_uw() function can crash with a NULL pointer dereference when em_cpu_get() returns NULL. This occurs when a CPU becomes impossible during runtime, causing get_cpu_device() to return NULL, which propagates through em_cpu_get() and leads to a crash when em_span_cpus() dereferences the NULL pointer. Add a NULL check after em_cpu_get() and return 0 if unavailable, matching the existing fallback behavior in __dtpm_cpu_setup(). [ rjw: Drop an excess empty code line ]

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:>= 5.16, < 6.1.148>= 6.2, < 6.6.102>= 6.7, < 6.12.42>= 6.13, < 6.15.10>= 6.16, < 6.16.1
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 6.1.148 / 6.6.102 / 6.12.42 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1486.6.1026.12.42
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 6.1.148, 6.6.102, 6.12.42, or 6.15.10 (whichever is the minimum fixed version >= your current branch)

  1. Check current kernel version using `uname -r` to confirm if affected
  2. Identify the appropriate fixed kernel version for your branch from: 6.1.148, 6.6.102, 6.12.42, or 6.15.10 (whichever is >= your current version)
  3. Update package repository indexes: `sudo apt update` (Debian) or equivalent for your distribution
  4. Install the fixed kernel: `sudo apt install linux-image-<version>` (Debian) or `sudo dnf install kernel-<version>` (RHEL/Fedora)
  5. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel: `sudo reboot`
  6. Verify the running kernel version with `uname -r` to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with custom drivers or modules; test in non-production environment first

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-2025-38610 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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