Kernel crash via unchecked I2C message lengths
Published Sep 4, 2025 · Updated May 12, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in Linux and SIMATIC CN 4100 before V5.0 allows local users to crash the kernel through malformed I2C messages. dib7090p_rw_on_apb reads msg[0].buf[2] and bytes from msg[1].buf after zero lengths let earlier buffer checks pass. Exploitation requires low-privilege local access and the affected dib7090p DVB frontend path; the demonstrated consequence is service interruption by kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in Linux and SIMATIC CN 4100 before V5.0 allows local users to crash the kernel through malformed I2C messages. dib7090p_rw_on_apb reads msg[0].buf[2] and bytes from msg[1].buf after zero lengths let earlier buffer checks pass. Exploitation requires low-privilege local access and the affected dib7090p DVB frontend path; the demonstrated consequence is service interruption by kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-38694
- Published
- Sep 4, 2025
- Updated
- May 12, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 4, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 12, 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=2.6.39
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <09906650484a09b3a4d4b3d3065395856810becd
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <0bb32863426afe0badac25c28d59021f211d0f48
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <19eb5d8e6aa1169d368a4d69aae5572950deb89d
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <529fd5593b721e6f4370c591f5086649ed149ff6
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <a0f744d6cdde81d7382e183f77a4080a39b206cd
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <bc07cae4f36bb18d5b6a9ed835c1278ca44ec82e
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <c33280d6bd668dbdc5a5f07887cc63a52ab4789c
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <ce5cac69b2edac3e3246fee03e8f4c2a1075238b
- Affected versionversion=713d54a8bd812229410a1902cd9b332a2a27af9f <ce8b7c711b9c4f040b5419729d0972db8e374324
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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