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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38649

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-22
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: arm64: dts: qcom: qcs615: fix a crash issue caused by infinite loop for Coresight An infinite loop has been created by the Coresight devices. When only a source device is enabled, the coresight_find_activated_sysfs_sink function is recursively invoked in an attempt to locate an active sink device, ultimately leading to a stack overflow and system crash. Therefore, disable the replicator1 to break the infinite loop and prevent a potential stack overflow. replicator1_out -> funnel_swao_in6 -> tmc_etf_swao_in -> tmc_etf_swao_out | | replicator1_in replicator_swao_in | | replicator0_out1 replicator_swao_out0 | | replicator0_in funnel_in1_in3 | | tmc_etf_out <- tmc_etf_in <- funnel_merg_out <- funnel_merg_in1 <- funnel_in1_out [call trace] dump_backtrace+0x9c/0x128 show_stack+0x20/0x38 dump_stack_lvl+0x48/0x60 dump_stack+0x18/0x28 panic+0x340/0x3b0 nmi_panic+0x94/0xa0 panic_bad_stack+0x114/0x138 handle_bad_stack+0x34/0xb8 __bad_stack+0x78/0x80 coresight_find_activated_sysfs_sink+0x28/0xa0 [coresight] coresight_find_activated_sysfs_sink+0x5c/0xa0 [coresight] coresight_find_activated_sysfs_sink+0x5c/0xa0 [coresight] coresight_find_activated_sysfs_sink+0x5c/0xa0 [coresight] coresight_find_activated_sysfs_sink+0x5c/0xa0 [coresight] ... coresight_find_activated_sysfs_sink+0x5c/0xa0 [coresight] coresight_enable_sysfs+0x80/0x2a0 [coresight] side effect after the change: Only trace data originating from AOSS can reach the ETF_SWAO and EUD sinks.

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-835

Crafted input drives a loop whose exit condition is never satisfied, hanging the thread and starving the service of the resource it occupies. A single request can be enough to take a worker down. Remediation is bounding iteration counts and validating the conditions that are supposed to terminate the loop.

General guidance for the infinite loop 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:>= 6.14, < 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+ (choose the stable branch appropriate for your distribution)

  1. Identify current kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. If running kernel 6.14.x, 6.15.x (< 6.15.10), or 6.16.0, plan for kernel upgrade
  3. Upgrade to Linux kernel 6.15.10 or later, OR 6.16.1 or later (choose the newer stable branch appropriate for your distribution)
  4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the fix by checking kernel version with `uname -r` - ensure version is >= 6.15.10 or >= 6.16.1
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 $1,600. 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-2025-38649 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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