Linux Kernel up to 6.12.20/6.13.8 xa_alloc_cyclic null pointer dereference

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.20/6.13.8. It has been rated as critical. This vulnerability affects the function xa_alloc_cyclic. The manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2025-22016. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.20/6.13.8. This issue affects the function xa_alloc_cyclic. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dpll: fix xa_alloc_cyclic() error handling In case of returning 1 from xa_alloc_cyclic() (wrapping) ERR_PTR(1) will be returned, which will cause IS_ERR() to be false. Which can lead to dereference not allocated pointer (pin). Fix it by checking if err is lower than zero. This wasn't found in real usecase, only noticed. Credit to Pierre.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-22016 since 12/29/2024. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 237088 (SUSE SLED15 / SLES15 / openSUSE 15 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2025:01614-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.21 or 6.13.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch cb2f8a5c1fd9e7a1fefa23afe20570e16da1ada4/4d350043be684762e581d9bdd32d543621d01a9c/3614bf90130d60f191a5fe218d04f6251c678e13 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (237088) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-0732). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.13.0
• 6.13.1
• 6.13.2
• 6.13.3
• 6.13.4
• 6.13.5
• 6.13.6
• 6.13.7
• 6.13.8

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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