VDB-320636 · CVE-2025-38610 · Nessus 260118

Linux Kernel up to 6.16.0 powercap get_pd_power_uw null pointer dereference

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5.5	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.147/6.6.101/6.12.41/6.15.9/6.16.0. This affects the function get_pd_power_uw of the component powercap. Such manipulation leads to null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2025-38610. There is not any exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.147/6.6.101/6.12.41/6.15.9/6.16.0. Affected by this issue is the function get_pd_power_uw of the component powercap. 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. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powercap: dtpm_cpu: Fix NULL pointer dereference in get_pd_power_uw() The get_pd_power_uw() function can crash with a NULL pointer dereference when em_cpu_get() returns NULL. This occurs when a CPU becomes impossible during runtime, causing get_cpu_device() to return NULL, which propagates through em_cpu_get() and leads to a crash when em_span_cpus() dereferences the NULL pointer. Add a NULL check after em_cpu_get() and return 0 if unavailable, matching the existing fallback behavior in __dtpm_cpu_setup(). [ rjw: Drop an excess empty code line ]

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-38610 since 04/16/2025. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 260118 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38610), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.148, 6.6.102, 6.12.42, 6.15.10, 6.16.1 or 6.17-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 27914f2b795e2b58e9506f281dcdd98fef09d3c2/c6ec27091cf5ac05094c1fe3a6ce914cf711a37c/8374ac7d69a57d737e701a851ffe980a0d27d3ad/27e0318f0ea69fcfa32228847debc384ade14578/2fd001a0075ac01dc64a28a8e21226b3d989a91d/46dc57406887dd02565cb264224194a6776d882b 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 (260118) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1869). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

Debian Linux
Amazon Linux 2
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Ubuntu Linux
SUSE Linux
Oracle Linux
SUSE openSUSE
RESF Rocky Linux
Dell Avamar
Open Source Linux Kernel
Dell NetWorker
Dell Secure Connect Gateway
IBM QRadar SIEM

Productinfo

Type

Operating System

Vendor

Linux

Name

Kernel

Version

License

open-source

Website

Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.6
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.5

VulDB Base Score: 5.7
VulDB Temp Score: 5.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒