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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39833

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: mISDN: hfcpci: Fix warning when deleting uninitialized timer With CONFIG_DEBUG_OBJECTS_TIMERS unloading hfcpci module leads to the following splat: [ 250.215892] ODEBUG: assert_init not available (active state 0) object: ffffffffc01a3dc0 object type: timer_list hint: 0x0 [ 250.217520] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 233 at lib/debugobjects.c:612 debug_print_object+0x1b6/0x2c0 [ 250.218775] Modules linked in: hfcpci(-) mISDN_core [ 250.219537] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 233 Comm: rmmod Not tainted 6.17.0-rc2-g6f713187ac98 #2 PREEMPT(voluntary) [ 250.220940] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 250.222377] RIP: 0010:debug_print_object+0x1b6/0x2c0 [ 250.223131] Code: fc ff df 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 80 3c 02 00 75 4f 41 56 48 8b 14 dd a0 4e 01 9f 48 89 ee 48 c7 c7 20 46 01 9f e8 cb 84d [ 250.225805] RSP: 0018:ffff888015ea7c08 EFLAGS: 00010286 [ 250.226608] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000005 RCX: ffffffff9be93a95 [ 250.227708] RDX: 1ffff1100d945138 RSI: 0000000000000008 RDI: ffff88806ca289c0 [ 250.228993] RBP: ffffffff9f014a00 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffffed1002bd4f39 [ 250.230043] R10: ffff888015ea79cf R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000001 [ 250.231185] R13: ffffffff9eea0520 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff888015ea7cc8 [ 250.232454] FS: 00007f3208f01540(0000) GS:ffff8880caf5a000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 250.233851] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 250.234856] CR2: 00007f32090a7421 CR3: 0000000004d63000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 [ 250.236117] Call Trace: [ 250.236599] <TASK> [ 250.236967] ? trace_irq_enable.constprop.0+0xd4/0x130 [ 250.237920] debug_object_assert_init+0x1f6/0x310 [ 250.238762] ? __pfx_debug_object_assert_init+0x10/0x10 [ 250.239658] ? __lock_acquire+0xdea/0x1c70 [ 250.240369] __try_to_del_timer_sync+0x69/0x140 [ 250.241172] ? __pfx___try_to_del_timer_sync+0x10/0x10 [ 250.242058] ? __timer_delete_sync+0xc6/0x120 [ 250.242842] ? lock_acquire+0x30/0x80 [ 250.243474] ? __timer_delete_sync+0xc6/0x120 [ 250.244262] __timer_delete_sync+0x98/0x120 [ 250.245015] HFC_cleanup+0x10/0x20 [hfcpci] [ 250.245704] __do_sys_delete_module+0x348/0x510 [ 250.246461] ? __pfx___do_sys_delete_module+0x10/0x10 [ 250.247338] do_syscall_64+0xc1/0x360 [ 250.247924] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Fix this by initializing hfc_tl timer with DEFINE_TIMER macro. Also, use mod_timer instead of manual timeout update.

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-908

Memory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.

General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource 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:>= 2.6.29, < 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

Linux Kernel >= 6.16.5 or >= 6.18

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check if the system is running an affected kernel version (>= 2.6.29, < 6.16.5, or = 6.17)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.16.5 or later, or version 6.18 or later to receive the fix
  4. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and ensuring the hfcpci module can be unloaded without warnings
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching kernel modules and could have compatibility implications with user-space tools; ensure backups and test in non-production environment first

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-2025-39833 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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