Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-71285
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: net: qrtr: Drop the MHI auto_queue feature for IPCR DL channels MHI stack offers the 'auto_queue' feature, which allows the MHI stack to auto queue the buffers for the RX path (DL channel). Though this feature simplifies the client driver design, it introduces race between the client drivers and the MHI stack. For instance, with auto_queue, the 'dl_callback' for the DL channel may get called before the client driver is fully probed. This means, by the time the dl_callback gets called, the client driver's structures might not be initialized, leading to NULL ptr dereference. Currently, the drivers have to workaround this issue by initializing the internal structures before calling mhi_prepare_for_transfer_autoqueue(). But even so, there is a chance that the client driver's internal code path may call the MHI queue APIs before mhi_prepare_for_transfer_autoqueue() is called, leading to similar NULL ptr dereference. This issue has been reported on the Qcom X1E80100 CRD machines affecting boot. So to properly fix all these races, drop the MHI 'auto_queue' feature altogether and let the client driver (QRTR) manage the RX buffers manually. In the QRTR driver, queue the RX buffers based on the ring length during probe and recycle the buffers in 'dl_callback' once they are consumed. This also warrants removing the setting of 'auto_queue' flag from controller drivers. Currently, this 'auto_queue' feature is only enabled for IPCR DL channel. So only the QRTR client driver requires the modification.
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 analysisThe 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
>= 5.15.63, < 5.16>= 5.17, < 6.18.17>= 6.19, < 6.19.6CVSS 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 · scoped5.166.18.176.19.6
Linux Kernel 6.18.17 or later for the 6.18.y branch; Linux Kernel 6.19.6 or later for the 6.19.y branch
- Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
- Check if the version falls within affected ranges: >= 5.15.63 and < 5.16, >= 5.17 and < 6.18.17, or >= 6.19 and < 6.19.6
- If affected, upgrade to a kernel version >= 6.18.17 or >= 6.19.6 (depending on which release branch you are on)
- Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the qrtr driver no longer uses auto_queue (check /sys/module/qrtr/parameters/ or review driver source)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-71285 — 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-2025-71285 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
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