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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38671

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.297 / 5.10.241 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: i2c: qup: jump out of the loop in case of timeout Original logic only sets the return value but doesn't jump out of the loop if the bus is kept active by a client. This is not expected. A malicious or buggy i2c client can hang the kernel in this case and should be avoided. This is observed during a long time test with a PCA953x GPIO extender. Fix it by changing the logic to not only sets the return value, but also jumps out of the loop and return to the caller with -ETIMEDOUT.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 4.17, < 5.4.297>= 5.5, < 5.10.241>= 5.11, < 5.15.190>= 5.16, < 6.1.148>= 6.2, < 6.6.101>= 6.7, < 6.12.41>= 6.13, < 6.15.9= 6.16
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 5.4.297 / 5.10.241 / 5.15.190 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2975.10.2415.15.190
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 5.4.297+, 5.10.241+, 5.15.190+, or 6.1.148+ (or Debian 11.1+ with updated kernel packages)

  1. Check current kernel version with: uname -r
  2. For Debian 11 systems, run: apt-get update && apt-get install linux-image-$(uname -r | sed 's/.*-//') or apt-get update && apt-get upgrade to get the patched kernel
  3. For other distributions, obtain the patched kernel from your vendor or compile from source using commit 0d33913fce67a93c1eb83396c3c9d6b411dcab33
  4. After installation, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the i2c qup driver source in /drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-qup.c for the timeout break logic
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require driver recompilation for out-of-tree modules; ensure all system dependencies are compatible

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-2025-38671 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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