NULL dereference via unchecked allocation failure
Published Nov 12, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026
A NULL pointer dereference in Linux 6.12 through 6.17.4 allows attackers an unspecified impact via memory-allocation failure. In the AMD SoundWire machine setup path, devm_kasprintf() can return NULL, but dev_dbg() dereferences cpus->dai_name before the code checks that result. Reachability requires allocation failure while sound/soc/amd/acp/acp-sdw-sof-mach.c configures the device; published records do not identify attacker control over that condition.
Summary
What happened
A NULL pointer dereference in Linux 6.12 through 6.17.4 allows attackers an unspecified impact via memory-allocation failure. In the AMD SoundWire machine setup path, devm_kasprintf() can return NULL, but dev_dbg() dereferences cpus->dai_name before the code checks that result. Reachability requires allocation failure while sound/soc/amd/acp/acp-sdw-sof-mach.c configures the device; published records do not identify attacker control over that condition.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-40162
- Published
- Nov 12, 2025
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 12, 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=6.12
- Affected versionversion=cb8ea62e6402067ba092d4c1d66a9440513a572b <095d692e5997ece300c89f10d903d5230090e6a0
- Affected versionversion=cb8ea62e6402067ba092d4c1d66a9440513a572b <5726b68473f7153a7f6294185e5998b7e2a230a2
- Affected versionversion=cb8ea62e6402067ba092d4c1d66a9440513a572b <a1cccbd19676fc36854535a7118ba2c27d0b84b3
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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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
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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