Kernel crash via unchecked dce_hwseq dereference
Published Jul 25, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
Null-pointer dereference in affected Linux kernels allows local users to crash the kernel during AMD display stream blanking. In dce110_blank_stream, a later operation dereferences link->dc->hwseq even though an earlier check establishes that the hardware-sequencer pointer can be null. Reachability requires an AMD display initialization state with a null hwseq pointer; Ubuntu reports that attackers cannot invoke or influence that state, so exploitation is not reliable.
Summary
What happened
Null-pointer dereference in affected Linux kernels allows local users to crash the kernel during AMD display stream blanking. In dce110_blank_stream, a later operation dereferences link->dc->hwseq even though an earlier check establishes that the hardware-sequencer pointer can be null. Reachability requires an AMD display initialization state with a null hwseq pointer; Ubuntu reports that attackers cannot invoke or influence that state, so exploitation is not reliable.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-38361
- Published
- Jul 25, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 25, 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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=4.15
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <5e1482ae14b03b9fca73ef5afea26ede683f4450
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <60e450eec5d63113c6ad5c456ce64c12b4496a6e
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <b669507b637eb6b1aaecf347f193efccc65d756e
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <df11bf0ef795b6d415c4d8ee54fa3f2105e75bcb
- Affected versionversion=4562236b3bc0a28aeb6ee93b2d8a849a4c4e1c7c <e881b82f5d3d8d54d168cd276169f0fee01bf0e7
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
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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