Linux Kernel up to 6.12.35/6.15.4/6.16-rc3 HID wacom_aes_battery_handler denial of service

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.35/6.15.4/6.16-rc3 and classified as critical. The impacted element is the function wacom_aes_battery_handler of the component HID. The manipulation leads to denial of service. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2025-38253. There is no available exploit. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.35/6.15.4/6.16-rc3. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function wacom_aes_battery_handler of the component HID. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: wacom: fix crash in wacom_aes_battery_handler() Commit fd2a9b29dc9c ("HID: wacom: Remove AES power_supply after extended inactivity") introduced wacom_aes_battery_handler() which is scheduled as a delayed work (aes_battery_work). In wacom_remove(), aes_battery_work is not canceled. Consequently, if the device is removed while aes_battery_work is still pending, then hard crashes or "Oops: general protection fault..." are experienced when wacom_aes_battery_handler() is finally called. E.g., this happens with built-in USB devices after resume from hibernate when aes_battery_work was still pending at the time of hibernation. So, take care to cancel aes_battery_work in wacom_remove().

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-38253 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 271193 (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS / 25.04 : Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities (USN-7834-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.36, 6.15.5 or 6.16-rc4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch a4f182ffa30c52ad1c8e12edfb8049ee748c0f1b/57a3d82200dbeccd002244b96acad570eeeb731f/f3054152c12e2eed1e72704aff47b0ea58229584 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 (271193), EUVD (EUVD-2025-20808) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1517). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Google Cloud Platform
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• SUSE openSUSE
• NetApp ActiveIQ Unified Manager
• Dell Avamar
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

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
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.15.0
• 6.15.1
• 6.15.2
• 6.15.3
• 6.15.4
• 6.16-rc1
• 6.16-rc2
• 6.16-rc3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

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Entryinfo

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