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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39814

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.16.5 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: ice: fix NULL pointer dereference in ice_unplug_aux_dev() on reset Issuing a reset when the driver is loaded without RDMA support, will results in a crash as it attempts to remove RDMA's non-existent auxbus device: echo 1 > /sys/class/net/<if>/device/reset BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000008 ... RIP: 0010:ice_unplug_aux_dev+0x29/0x70 [ice] ... Call Trace: <TASK> ice_prepare_for_reset+0x77/0x260 [ice] pci_dev_save_and_disable+0x2c/0x70 pci_reset_function+0x88/0x130 reset_store+0x5a/0xa0 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x15e/0x210 vfs_write+0x273/0x520 ksys_write+0x6b/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0x79/0x3b0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e ice_unplug_aux_dev() checks pf->cdev_info->adev for NULL pointer, but pf->cdev_info will also be NULL, leading to the deref in the trace above. Introduce a flag to be set when the creation of the auxbus device is successful, to avoid multiple NULL pointer checks in ice_unplug_aux_dev().

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:>= 6.16, < 6.16.5= 6.17

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 6.16.5 or later
Fixed in 6.16.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel 6.16.5 or later; kernel 6.17.1 or later

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. If running kernel 6.16.x (6.16.0 through 6.16.4), upgrade to kernel version 6.16.5 or later
  3. If running kernel 6.17.0, upgrade to kernel version 6.17.1 or later, or wait for the next stable release
  4. Update the kernel package using your distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt update && apt upgrade` for Debian/Ubuntu, `yum update` for RHEL/CentOS, or `dnf upgrade` for Fedora)
  5. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version (`uname -r`) and confirming it is >= 6.16.5 or >= 6.17.1
Caveat No breaking changes expected; this is a bug fix for a NULL pointer dereference. Upgrading within the same stable kernel series should be seamless.

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-2025-39814 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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