Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-39855
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix NULL access of tx->in_use in ice_ptp_ts_irq The E810 device has support for a "low latency" firmware interface to access and read the Tx timestamps. This interface does not use the standard Tx timestamp logic, due to the latency overhead of proxying sideband command requests over the firmware AdminQ. The logic still makes use of the Tx timestamp tracking structure, ice_ptp_tx, as it uses the same "ready" bitmap to track which Tx timestamps complete. Unfortunately, the ice_ptp_ts_irq() function does not check if the tracker is initialized before its first access. This results in NULL dereference or use-after-free bugs similar to the following: [245977.278756] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 [245977.278774] RIP: 0010:_find_first_bit+0x19/0x40 [245977.278796] Call Trace: [245977.278809] ? ice_misc_intr+0x364/0x380 [ice] This can occur if a Tx timestamp interrupt races with the driver reset logic. Fix this by only checking the in_use bitmap (and other fields) if the tracker is marked as initialized. The reset flow will clear the init field under lock before it tears the tracker down, thus preventing any use-after-free or NULL access.
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 analysisMemory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.
General guidance for the use after free 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
>= 6.15, < 6.16.6= 6.17CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 · scoped6.16.6
6.16.6 or later (or 6.18 and later to skip the 6.17.x branch)
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.16.6 or later, or to version 6.18 or later
- Verify the ice driver is loaded and the system boots without the NULL pointer dereference error
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-39855 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-39855 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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