System crash via unlocked fan-source reread
Published Jul 4, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
TOCTOU race in the Linux kernel's ftsteutates hwmon driver allows local users to crash the system or receive incorrect fan-source values. The fts_read() path checks data->fan_source[channel] and then rereads it without locking, allowing fts_update_device() to replace it with 0xff before BIT() shifts by 255. The affected code starts in 6.3, and exploitation requires low-privileged local access plus a concurrent driver update on applicable hardware.
Summary
What happened
TOCTOU race in the Linux kernel's ftsteutates hwmon driver allows local users to crash the system or receive incorrect fan-source values. The fts_read() path checks data->fan_source[channel] and then rereads it without locking, allowing fts_update_device() to replace it with 0xff before BIT() shifts by 255. The affected code starts in 6.3, and exploitation requires low-privileged local access plus a concurrent driver update on applicable hardware.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-38217
- Published
- Jul 4, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-367, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 4, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=1c5759d8ce054961b454af69568a41e7e3210ee1 <14c9ede9ca4cd078ad76a6ab9617b81074eb58bf
- Affected versionversion=1c5759d8ce054961b454af69568a41e7e3210ee1 <4d646f627d3b7ed1cacca66e598af8bcd632d465
- Affected versionversion=1c5759d8ce054961b454af69568a41e7e3210ee1 <83e2ba8971ccd8fc08319fc7593288f070d80a76
- Affected versionversion=1c5759d8ce054961b454af69568a41e7e3210ee1 <d95d87841d2a575bed3691884e8fedef57d7710d
- Affected versionversion=6.3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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