Kernel panic via unlocked UART startup write
Published Sep 5, 2025 · Updated Sep 5, 2025
Denial of service in the Linux kernel 8250 serial driver allows local users to trigger a kernel panic during UART startup. serial8250_do_startup writes UART_LCR without holding port->lock, allowing concurrent UART access to enter a FIFO-reset path that reads an empty receive buffer. Reachability requires a DesignWare 8250 UART with PSLVERR_RESP_EN enabled and concurrent UART activity; the resulting PSLVERR stops the kernel.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in the Linux kernel 8250 serial driver allows local users to trigger a kernel panic during UART startup. serial8250_do_startup writes UART_LCR without holding port->lock, allowing concurrent UART access to enter a FIFO-reset path that reads an empty receive buffer. Reachability requires a DesignWare 8250 UART with PSLVERR_RESP_EN enabled and concurrent UART activity; the resulting PSLVERR stops the kernel.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-39724
- Published
- Sep 5, 2025
- Updated
- Sep 5, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 5, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 5, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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- Affected versionversion=2401577586898b3590db80f8b97a26f81f0f6d4e
- Affected versionversion=3.13
- Affected versionversion=6d5e79331417886196cb3a733bdb6645ba85bc42
- Affected versionversion=c49436b657d0a56a6ad90d14a7c3041add7cf64d <0b882f00655afefbc7729c6b5aec86f7a5473a3d
- Affected versionversion=c49436b657d0a56a6ad90d14a7c3041add7cf64d <38c0ea484dedb58cb3a4391229933e16be0d1031
- Affected versionversion=c49436b657d0a56a6ad90d14a7c3041add7cf64d <68c4613e89f000e8198f9ace643082c697921c9f
- Affected versionversion=c49436b657d0a56a6ad90d14a7c3041add7cf64d <7f8fdd4dbffc05982b96caf586f77a014b2a9353
- Affected versionversion=c49436b657d0a56a6ad90d14a7c3041add7cf64d <8e2739478c164147d0774802008528d9e03fb802
- Affected versionversion=c49436b657d0a56a6ad90d14a7c3041add7cf64d <b8ca8e3f75ede308b4d49a6ca5081460be01bdb5
- Affected versionversion=c49436b657d0a56a6ad90d14a7c3041add7cf64d <c826943abf473a3f7260fbadfad65e44db475460
- Affected versionversion=c49436b657d0a56a6ad90d14a7c3041add7cf64d <cb7b3633ed749db8e56f475f43c960652cbd6882
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