CVE-2025-71313
Received Received - Intake
PCI Endpoint NULL Pointer Dereference in Linux Kernel

Publication date: 2026-06-03

Last updated on: 2026-06-03

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: PCI: endpoint: Add missing NULL check for alloc_workqueue() alloc_workqueue() can return NULL on memory allocation failure. Without proper error checking, this may lead to a NULL pointer dereference when queue_work() is later called with the NULL workqueue pointer in epf_ntb_epc_init(). Add a NULL check immediately after alloc_workqueue() and return -ENOMEM on failure to prevent the driver from loading with an invalid workqueue pointer.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-06-03
Last Modified
2026-06-03
Generated
2026-06-04
AI Q&A
2026-06-03
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
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AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's PCI endpoint driver where a missing NULL check after calling alloc_workqueue() can cause a NULL pointer dereference.

alloc_workqueue() may return NULL if memory allocation fails. Without checking for this NULL return value, the code later calls queue_work() with a NULL pointer, leading to a potential crash or undefined behavior.

The fix involves adding a NULL check immediately after alloc_workqueue() and returning an error (-ENOMEM) if the allocation fails, preventing the driver from loading with an invalid workqueue pointer.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to dereference a NULL pointer, which may lead to a kernel crash or system instability.

Such crashes can result in denial of service conditions, potentially disrupting normal system operations.


What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?

To mitigate this vulnerability, ensure that the Linux kernel version you are using includes the fix that adds a NULL check immediately after alloc_workqueue() in the PCI endpoint driver.

This fix prevents the driver from loading with an invalid workqueue pointer by returning -ENOMEM on failure, thus avoiding a NULL pointer dereference.

If you are maintaining custom or backported kernel code, verify that the alloc_workqueue() call is properly checked for NULL and handle the error accordingly.


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