What is CVE-2025-38668?

CVE-2025-38668 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). CVE-2025-38668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38668?

CVE-2025-38668 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-2025-38668?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2025-38668. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

Is CVE-2025-38668 actively exploited?

CVE-2025-38668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA 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. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/476.html

CVE-2025-38668

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: regulator: core: fix NULL dereference on unbind due to stale coupling data Failing to reset coupling_desc.n_coupled after freeing coupled_rdevs can lead to NULL pointer dereference when regulators are accessed post-unbind. This can happen during runtime PM or other regulator operations that rely on coupling metadata. For example, on ridesx4, unbinding the 'reg-dummy' platform device triggers a panic in regulator_lock_recursive() due to stale coupling state. Ensure n_coupled is set to 0 to prevent access to invalid pointers.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-08-22

Last modified 2026-01-08

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Awaiting data

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-2025-38668 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

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38668 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Debian Security
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html

Third Party Advisory
Debian Security
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html

Third Party Advisory
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/233d3c54c9620e95193923859ea1d0b0f5d748ca
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d4261dbb3335221fd9c6e69f909ba79ee6663a7
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c49eac796681e250e34156bafb643930310bd4a
Patch

8 patch commits total View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2025-38668

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-08-22

Modified 2026-01-08

KEV No

Patch Awaiting data

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38668?

CVE-2025-38668 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) . CVE-2025-38668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38668?

CVE-2025-38668 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-2025-38668?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2025-38668. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
Is CVE-2025-38668 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2025-38668 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 →