Linux Kernel up to 6.12.41/6.15.9/6.16.0 clk_register state issue

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.41/6.15.9/6.16.0. It has been classified as critical. Impacted is the function clk_register. The manipulation leads to state issue. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2025-38631. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.41/6.15.9/6.16.0. This issue affects the function clk_register. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a state issue vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-371. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: clk: imx95-blk-ctl: Fix synchronous abort When enabling runtime PM for clock suppliers that also belong to a power domain, the following crash is thrown: error: synchronous external abort: 0000000096000010 [#1] PREEMPT SMP Workqueue: events_unbound deferred_probe_work_func pstate: 60400009 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : clk_mux_get_parent+0x60/0x90 lr : clk_core_reparent_orphans_nolock+0x58/0xd8 Call trace: clk_mux_get_parent+0x60/0x90 clk_core_reparent_orphans_nolock+0x58/0xd8 of_clk_add_hw_provider.part.0+0x90/0x100 of_clk_add_hw_provider+0x1c/0x38 imx95_bc_probe+0x2e0/0x3f0 platform_probe+0x70/0xd8 Enabling runtime PM without explicitly resuming the device caused the power domain cut off after clk_register() is called. As a result, a crash happens when the clock hardware provider is added and attempts to access the BLK_CTL register. Fix this by using devm_pm_runtime_enable() instead of pm_runtime_enable() and getting rid of the pm_runtime_disable() in the cleanup path.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-38631 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/28/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 260279 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38631), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.42, 6.15.10, 6.16.1 or 6.17-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch c1dead8bb303f86905ea6a09e5acda931165453b/9f0ee0baf25b46bb82655c687718ebb0ae1def7b/533dc3cb375cabd8a2beba293d63ef2acd3d0005/b08217a257215ed9130fce93d35feba66b49bf0a 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 (260279) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1898). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Google Cloud Platform
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• NetApp AFF
• NetApp ActiveIQ Unified Manager
• SUSE openSUSE
• Dell Avamar
• NetApp FAS
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• Dell ECS

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.0
• 6.1
• 6.2
• 6.3
• 6.4
• 6.5
• 6.6
• 6.7
• 6.8
• 6.9
• 6.10
• 6.11
• 6.12
• 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
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.13
• 6.14
• 6.15
• 6.15.0
• 6.15.1
• 6.15.2
• 6.15.3
• 6.15.4
• 6.15.5
• 6.15.6
• 6.15.7
• 6.15.8
• 6.15.9
• 6.16.0

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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