CVE-2025-38726

Local kernel crash via NULL PHY dereference

Published Sep 4, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the ftgmac100 driver in Linux 6.12, 6.13 through 6.15.10, and 6.16 through 6.16.1 allows local users to crash the kernel. The ftgmac100_phy_disconnect function calls phy_disconnect, which clears netdev->phydev, then passes that cleared pointer to fixed_phy_unregister instead of preserving the original PHY device. Reachability requires low-privilege local access and use of the ftgmac100 driver; the bounded impact is a kernel crash and resulting service interruption.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in the ftgmac100 driver in Linux 6.12, 6.13 through 6.15.10, and 6.16 through 6.16.1 allows local users to crash the kernel. The ftgmac100_phy_disconnect function calls phy_disconnect, which clears netdev->phydev, then passes that cleared pointer to fixed_phy_unregister instead of preserving the original PHY device. Reachability requires low-privilege local access and use of the ftgmac100 driver; the bounded impact is a kernel crash and resulting service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38726
Published
Sep 4, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 4, 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

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=6.12
  2. Affected versionversion=e24a6c874601efb3de6e535895dd8e4f56fa98f1 <44bcd397ad9cd1a6b25fabb7f5edbee4fb0cfc2e
  3. Affected versionversion=e24a6c874601efb3de6e535895dd8e4f56fa98f1 <9ad90dd34b4e8e5be1e45a4559f4de0f14e53af2
  4. Affected versionversion=e24a6c874601efb3de6e535895dd8e4f56fa98f1 <ae59ec969c07c73f0610f8bd7e648f01e798d222
  5. Affected versionversion=e24a6c874601efb3de6e535895dd8e4f56fa98f1 <e88fbc30dda1cb7438515303704ceddb3ade4ecd

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.12; version=e24a6c874601efb3de6e535895dd8e4f56fa98f1 <44bcd397ad9cd1a6b25fabb7f5edbee4fb0cfc2e; version=e24a6c874601efb3de6e535895dd8e4f56fa98f1 <9ad90dd34b4e8e5be1e45a4559f4de0f14e53af2; version=e24a6c874601efb3de6e535895dd8e4f56fa98f1 <ae59ec969c07c73f0610f8bd7e648f01e798d222; version=e24a6c874601efb3de6e535895dd8e4f56fa98f1 <e88fbc30dda1cb7438515303704ceddb3ade4ecd

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS: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

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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