What is CVE-2025-39897?

CVE-2025-39897 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), affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.8 onward and patched in 6.12.46, 6.16.6 and 6.17. CVE-2025-39897 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-39897?

CVE-2025-39897 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-2025-39897?

Yes, CVE-2025-39897 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.46, 6.16.6 and 6.17. If you are running Linux kernel 6.8 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2025-39897 actively exploited?

CVE-2025-39897 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-2025-39897

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: xilinx: axienet: Add error handling for RX metadata pointer retrieval Add proper error checking for dmaengine_desc_get_metadata_ptr() which can return an error pointer and lead to potential crashes or undefined behaviour if the pointer retrieval fails. Properly handle the error by unmapping DMA buffer, freeing the skb and returning early to prevent further processing with invalid data.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-10-01

Last modified 2026-01-14

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-2025-39897 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 6.8 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.46, 6.16.6, 6.17 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.8

Fixed in

✓ 6.12.46 6.12.x ✓ 6.16.6 6.16.x ✓ 6.17

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-39897 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/8bbceba7dc5090c00105e006ce28d1292cfda8dd
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92e2fc92bc4eb2bc0e84404316fbc02ddd0a3196
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0ecda6fdd840b406df6617b003b036f65dd8926
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2025-39897

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-10-01

Modified 2026-01-14

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-39897?

CVE-2025-39897 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 6.8 onward and has been patched in 6.12.46, 6.16.6 and 6.17. CVE-2025-39897 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-39897?

CVE-2025-39897 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-2025-39897?

Yes — CVE-2025-39897 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.46, 6.16.6 and 6.17. If you are running Linux kernel 6.8 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2025-39897 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2025-39897 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 →