CVE-2025-22102

Local kernel compromise via stale firmware pointer

Published Apr 16, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Use-after-free in the Linux btnxpuart driver beginning with 6.4 allows local users to compromise the kernel via firmware-download races. nxp_download_firmware calls release_firmware on a stale nxpdev->fw pointer when no firmware was requested after a single bootloader signature. Simultaneous WLAN and Bluetooth firmware downloads on an affected NXP combo chip can corrupt kernel memory or crash the system.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in the Linux btnxpuart driver beginning with 6.4 allows local users to compromise the kernel via firmware-download races. nxp_download_firmware calls release_firmware on a stale nxpdev->fw pointer when no firmware was requested after a single bootloader signature. Simultaneous WLAN and Bluetooth firmware downloads on an affected NXP combo chip can corrupt kernel memory or crash the system.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-22102
Published
Apr 16, 2025
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 16, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.4
  2. Affected versionversion=689ca16e523278470c38832a3010645a78c544d8 <1f77c05408c96bc0b58ae476a9cadc9e5b9cfd0f
  3. Affected versionversion=689ca16e523278470c38832a3010645a78c544d8 <6749cf49eff7ce6dadcb603c5c8db70b28079a5d
  4. Affected versionversion=689ca16e523278470c38832a3010645a78c544d8 <a0a736d9857cadd87ae48b151d787e28954ea831
  5. Affected versionversion=689ca16e523278470c38832a3010645a78c544d8 <d22496de5049d9b8f5b6d8623682a56b3c3d7e18

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.4; version=689ca16e523278470c38832a3010645a78c544d8 <1f77c05408c96bc0b58ae476a9cadc9e5b9cfd0f; version=689ca16e523278470c38832a3010645a78c544d8 <6749cf49eff7ce6dadcb603c5c8db70b28079a5d; version=689ca16e523278470c38832a3010645a78c544d8 <a0a736d9857cadd87ae48b151d787e28954ea831; version=689ca16e523278470c38832a3010645a78c544d8 <d22496de5049d9b8f5b6d8623682a56b3c3d7e18

Published CVSS scores

7.8LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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