CVE-2025-38262

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tty: serial: uartlite: register uart driver in init When two instances of uart devices are probing, a concurrency race can occur. If one thread calls uart_register_driver function, which first allocates and assigns memory to 'uart_state' member of uart_driver structure, the other instance can bypass uart driver registration and call ulite_assign. This calls uart_add_one_port, which expects the uart driver to be fully initialized. This leads to a kernel panic due to a null pointer dereference: [ 8.143581] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000002b8 [ 8.156982] #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode [ 8.156984] #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page [ 8.156986] PGD 0 P4D 0 ... [ 8.180668] RIP: 0010:mutex_lock+0x19/0x30 [ 8.188624] Call Trace: [ 8.188629] ? __die_body.cold+0x1a/0x1f [ 8.195260] ? page_fault_oops+0x15c/0x290 [ 8.209183] ? __irq_resolve_mapping+0x47/0x80 [ 8.209187] ? exc_page_fault+0x64/0x140 [ 8.209190] ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30 [ 8.209196] ? mutex_lock+0x19/0x30 [ 8.223116] uart_add_one_port+0x60/0x440 [ 8.223122] ? proc_tty_register_driver+0x43/0x50 [ 8.223126] ? tty_register_driver+0x1ca/0x1e0 [ 8.246250] ulite_probe+0x357/0x4b0 [uartlite] To prevent it, move uart driver registration in to init function. This will ensure that uart_driver is always registered when probe function is called.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-07-09
Last modified 2025-12-18
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-476

CVE-2025-38262 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability

What is NULL Pointer Dereference?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.20 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.4.296, 5.15.187, 6.1.143, 6.6.96, 6.12.36, 6.15.5, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.20
Fixed in
✓ 5.4.296 5.4.x ✓ 5.15.187 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.143 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.96 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.36 6.12.x ✓ 6.15.5 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38262 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

7 patch commits total View all on NVD

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2025-38262?

    CVE-2025-38262 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.20 onward and has been patched in 5.4.296, 5.15.187, 6.1.143 and others. CVE-2025-38262 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38262?

    CVE-2025-38262 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-38262?

    Yes — CVE-2025-38262 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.296, 5.15.187, 6.1.143 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.20 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-38262 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-38262 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

    The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. View CWE-476 on MITRE CWE →

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