CVE-2025-38168
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-07-03
Last updated on: 2025-11-20
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-NVD-CWE-noinfo |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's perf subsystem for ARM NI devices. When a resource allocation fails in one clock domain of an NI device, the system does not properly roll back previously registered performance monitoring units (PMUs) in other clock domains of the same device. This improper handling can lead to kernel panics due to list corruption and fatal exceptions during device probing.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
The vulnerability can cause kernel panics, which result in system crashes and instability. This can lead to downtime, loss of data, and disruption of services running on affected Linux systems using ARM NI devices.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring kernel logs for error messages related to the arm-ni driver, such as 'Failed to request PMU region', 'probe with driver arm-ni failed with error -16', or kernel panic messages involving 'list_add corruption' and 'Kernel panic - not syncing: Oops - BUG: Fatal exception'. Commands to check these logs include 'dmesg | grep arm-ni' or 'journalctl -k | grep arm-ni'.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
Immediate mitigation steps include updating the Linux kernel to a version where this vulnerability is resolved, ensuring that the arm-ni driver properly unregisters PMUs on probe failure to prevent kernel panics. Until an update is applied, avoid using affected hardware or disable the arm-ni driver if possible to prevent triggering the issue.