Linux Kernel up to 6.17.5 hwmon devm_kzalloc null pointer dereference

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CTI Interest Score
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5.5$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.17.5. This vulnerability affects the function devm_kzalloc of the component hwmon. Performing a manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability was named CVE-2025-40224. There is no available exploit. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.17.5. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function devm_kzalloc of the component hwmon. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as 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. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hwmon: (cgbc-hwmon) Add missing NULL check after devm_kzalloc() The driver allocates memory for sensor data using devm_kzalloc(), but did not check if the allocation succeeded. In case of memory allocation failure, dereferencing the NULL pointer would lead to a kernel crash. Add a NULL pointer check and return -ENOMEM to handle allocation failure properly.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-40224 since 04/16/2025. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 277671 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-40224), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.17.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 240b82b86a091c1aa49d951d4467425420a081a0/a09a5aa8bf258ddc99a22c30f17fe304b96b5350 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 (277671) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2747). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

  • Debian Linux
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Amazon Linux 2
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Ubuntu Linux
  • SUSE Linux
  • Oracle Linux
  • SUSE openSUSE
  • Open Source Linux Kernel
  • RESF Rocky Linux
  • Microsoft Azure Linux

Productinfo

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Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.7
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.5

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

CVSSv2info

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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: No
Local: No
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 277671
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-40224

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.17.6
Patch: 240b82b86a091c1aa49d951d4467425420a081a0/a09a5aa8bf258ddc99a22c30f17fe304b96b5350

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
12/04/2025 +232 days Advisory disclosed
12/04/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
02/23/2026 +81 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-40224 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-40224
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-334293
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2747 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service

Entryinfo

Created: 12/04/2025 17:33
Updated: 02/23/2026 13:45
Changes: 12/04/2025 17:33 (59), 12/09/2025 00:39 (2), 01/05/2026 00:31 (7), 02/23/2026 13:45 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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