CVE-2025-37897

Kernel warning via erroneous teardown assertion

Published May 20, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Reachable assertion in affected Linux kernels allows local users to trigger a kernel warning during pureLiFi USB device teardown. plfxlc_mac_release() incorrectly asserts that mac->lock is held even though callers release that lock before probe-failure and disconnect cleanup. The path requires the pureLiFi USB driver and a failed probe or device disconnection; published evidence demonstrates the warning but not a crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Reachable assertion in affected Linux kernels allows local users to trigger a kernel warning during pureLiFi USB device teardown. plfxlc_mac_release() incorrectly asserts that mac->lock is held even though callers release that lock before probe-failure and disconnect cleanup. The path requires the pureLiFi USB driver and a failed probe or device disconnection; published evidence demonstrates the warning but not a crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-37897
Published
May 20, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-617, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 20, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 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=5.19
  2. Affected versionversion=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <0fb15ae3b0a9221be01715dac0335647c79f3362
  3. Affected versionversion=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <36a9a2647810e57e704dde59abdf831380ca9102
  4. Affected versionversion=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <791a2d9e87c411aec0b9b2fb735fd15e48af9de9
  5. Affected versionversion=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <93d646911be1e5be20d4f5d6c48359464cef0097
  6. Affected versionversion=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <9ecb4af39f80cdda3e57825923243ec11e48be6b

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.19; version=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <0fb15ae3b0a9221be01715dac0335647c79f3362; version=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <36a9a2647810e57e704dde59abdf831380ca9102; version=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <791a2d9e87c411aec0b9b2fb735fd15e48af9de9; version=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <93d646911be1e5be20d4f5d6c48359464cef0097; version=68d57a07bfe5bb29b80cd8b8fa24c9d1ea104124 <9ecb4af39f80cdda3e57825923243ec11e48be6b

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS: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

CWE-617Reachable Assertion
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo