What is CVE-2025-38531?

CVE-2025-38531 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.16 onward and patched in 6.6.136, 6.12.40, 6.15.8 and others. CVE-2025-38531 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38531?

CVE-2025-38531 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. 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-2025-38531?

Yes, CVE-2025-38531 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.136, 6.12.40, 6.15.8 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2025-38531 actively exploited?

CVE-2025-38531 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2025-38531

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iio: common: st_sensors: Fix use of uninitialize device structs Throughout the various probe functions &indio_dev->dev is used before it is initialized. This caused a kernel panic in st_sensors_power_enable() when the call to devm_regulator_bulk_get_enable() fails and then calls dev_err_probe() with the uninitialized device. This seems to only cause a panic with dev_err_probe(), dev_err(), dev_warn() and dev_info() don't seem to cause a panic, but are fixed as well. The issue is reported and traced here: [1]

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-08-16

Last modified 2026-04-27

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-908

CVE-2025-38531 is classified as CWE-908

See CWE-908 on MITRE CWE for full details on this weakness type.

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.16 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.6.136, 6.12.40, 6.15.8, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 5.16

Fixed in

✓ 6.6.136 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.40 6.12.x ✓ 6.15.8 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38531 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3297a9016a45144883ec990bd4bd5b1d79cafb46
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/610615c9668037e3eca11132063b93b2d945af13
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9f92e93e257b33e73622640a9205f8642ec16ddd
Patch

4 patch commits total View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2025-38531

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-08-16

Modified 2026-04-27

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38531?

CVE-2025-38531 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.16 onward and has been patched in 6.6.136, 6.12.40, 6.15.8 and others. CVE-2025-38531 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38531?

CVE-2025-38531 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-2025-38531?

Yes — CVE-2025-38531 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.136, 6.12.40, 6.15.8 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2025-38531 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2025-38531 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.