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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39705

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.44 / 6.16.4 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: drm/amd/display: fix a Null pointer dereference vulnerability [Why] A null pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the AMD display driver's (DC module) cleanup function dc_destruct(). When display control context (dc->ctx) construction fails (due to memory allocation failure), this pointer remains NULL. During subsequent error handling when dc_destruct() is called, there's no NULL check before dereferencing the perf_trace member (dc->ctx->perf_trace), causing a kernel null pointer dereference crash. [How] Check if dc->ctx is non-NULL before dereferencing. (Updated commit text and removed unnecessary error message) (cherry picked from commit 9dd8e2ba268c636c240a918e0a31e6feaee19404)

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:>= 4.15, < 6.12.44>= 6.13, < 6.16.4

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 6.12.44 / 6.16.4 or later
Fixed in 6.12.446.16.4
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.12.44 (for 6.12.x users) or 6.16.4 (for 6.13+ users)

  1. Upgrade Linux Kernel to version 6.12.44 or later (if using the 6.12.x stable branch)
  2. Alternatively, upgrade to version 6.16.4 or later (if using the 6.13+ stable branch)
  3. Verify the fix is included by checking that commit 0961673cc5f0055957aa46f25eb4ef6c07e00165 is present in the kernel version
  4. Alternatively, apply the vendor patch directly: the fix adds a NULL check for dc->ctx before dereferencing dc->ctx->perf_trace in the dc_destruct() function in drivers/gpu/drm/amd/display/dc/core/dc.c

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

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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-2025-39705 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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