CVE-2025-38486
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-07-28
Last updated on: 2025-11-19
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
| Probability: | |
| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
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 is related to a faulty patch in the Linux kernel's soundwire Qualcomm driver, specifically affecting the Dragonboard 845c (sdm845). The patch introduced a kernel BRK exception causing a fatal kernel panic due to improper handling of channel mapping in the soundwire_qcom driver. The issues include incorrect use of array indices leading to memory corruption and overwriting of transmit (tx) information with receive (rx) information, which breaks the sound subsystem on affected devices.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can cause the affected device to experience kernel panics and crashes, leading to system instability or complete failure of the sound subsystem. Devices like the Dragonboard 845c running the affected Linux kernel version may become unusable or unreliable for audio functions until the patch is reverted or fixed.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by observing kernel logs for specific error messages related to the soundwire_qcom module on affected devices such as Dragonboard 845c. Look for kernel BRK exceptions at EL1 and internal errors referencing qcom_swrm_set_channel_map. Commands to check kernel logs include: 'dmesg | grep BRK', 'dmesg | grep soundwire_qcom', or 'journalctl -k | grep BRK'. Monitoring for kernel panics with messages like 'Kernel panic - not syncing: BRK handler: Fatal exception' can also indicate the presence of this issue.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
The immediate mitigation is to apply the patch that reverts the problematic commit 7796c97df6b1b2206681a07f3c80f6023a6593d5 in the Linux kernel soundwire_qcom driver. This reversion fixes the issues causing kernel panics and memory corruption on affected devices such as the Dragonboard 845c. Until the patch is applied, avoid using the affected soundwire_qcom functionality or hardware that triggers this code path to prevent kernel crashes.