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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38695

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-04
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: scsi: lpfc: Check for hdwq null ptr when cleaning up lpfc_vport structure If a call to lpfc_sli4_read_rev() from lpfc_sli4_hba_setup() fails, the resultant cleanup routine lpfc_sli4_vport_delete_fcp_xri_aborted() may occur before sli4_hba.hdwqs are allocated. This may result in a null pointer dereference when attempting to take the abts_io_buf_list_lock for the first hardware queue. Fix by adding a null ptr check on phba->sli4_hba.hdwq and early return because this situation means there must have been an error during port initialization.

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:>= 5.1, < 5.4.297>= 5.5, < 5.10.241>= 5.11, < 5.15.190>= 5.16, < 6.1.149>= 6.2, < 6.6.103>= 6.7, < 6.12.43>= 6.13, < 6.15.11>= 6.16, < 6.16.2
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 / 6.1.149 or later (depending on branch); Debian 11 should receive kernel update via security repository or upgrade to Debian 12

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check if the system uses the lpfc (Emulex LightPulse FCP) SCSI driver by running `lsmod | grep lpfc`
  3. For Debian 11 systems: Upgrade kernel to a version that includes the fix (Debian security updates for bookworm or backported fixes for bullseye)
  4. For upstream Linux kernels: Upgrade to 5.4.297+, 5.10.241+, 5.15.190+, or 6.1.149+ depending on the branch in use
  5. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the lpfc driver loads without errors
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce regressions in other drivers; verify hardware compatibility before upgrading

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-2025-38695 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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