BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-10-01

Last updated on: 2025-12-12

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

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.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2025-10-01

Last Modified

2025-12-12

Generated

2026-07-06

AI Q&A

2025-10-01

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-05

NVD

CVE-2025-39897

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.8 (inc) to 6.12.46 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.13 (inc) to 6.16.6 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	6.17
linux	linux_kernel	6.17
linux	linux_kernel	6.17
linux	linux_kernel	6.17

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-476	The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel's xilinx axienet driver involves missing error handling when retrieving RX metadata pointers using dmaengine_desc_get_metadata_ptr(). Without proper error checking, the function can return an error pointer that, if not handled correctly, may cause crashes or undefined behavior. The fix adds error handling to unmap the DMA buffer, free the skb, and return early to prevent processing invalid data.

Impact Analysis

If exploited, this vulnerability can lead to system crashes or undefined behavior in the affected Linux kernel network driver, potentially causing denial of service or instability in systems using the xilinx axienet driver.

Mitigation Strategies

To mitigate this vulnerability, update the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for the axienet driver where proper error handling for dmaengine_desc_get_metadata_ptr() has been added. This prevents crashes or undefined behavior by handling error pointers correctly. Until the update is applied, avoid using affected hardware or drivers if possible.

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