CVE-2025-68238

Kernel crash via premature DMA pointer dereference

Published Dec 16, 2025 · Updated Dec 16, 2025

A NULL pointer dereference in the Cadence raw NAND driver in affected Linux kernel releases causes a kernel crash during initialization. The controller setup code assigns dma_dev by dereferencing cdns_ctrl->dmac before DMA-channel acquisition has initialized that pointer. The fault is limited to systems using the Cadence NAND controller and reaching its DMA initialization path; the resulting kernel fault interrupts the system.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A NULL pointer dereference in the Cadence raw NAND driver in affected Linux kernel releases causes a kernel crash during initialization. The controller setup code assigns dma_dev by dereferencing cdns_ctrl->dmac before DMA-channel acquisition has initialized that pointer. The fault is limited to systems using the Cadence NAND controller and reaching its DMA initialization path; the resulting kernel fault interrupts the system.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-68238
Published
Dec 16, 2025
Updated
Dec 16, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
Unavailable
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 16, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 16, 2025Record 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=099a316518508be7c57de4134ef919b2dea948ce <9c58c64ec41290c12490ca7e1df45013fbbb41fd
  2. Affected versionversion=0cae7c285f4771a9927ef592899234d307aea5d4 <2178b0255eae108bb10e5e99658b28641bc06f43
  3. Affected versionversion=0ce5416863965ddd86e066484a306867cf1e01a8 <0c635241a62f2f5da1b48bfffae226d1f86a76ef
  4. Affected versionversion=6.14
  5. Affected versionversion=a33c7492dcdf804b705b6c21018a481414d48038
  6. Affected versionversion=ad9393467fbd788ac2b8a01e492e45ab1b68a1b1 <b146e0b085d9d6bfe838e0a15481cba7d093c67f
  7. Affected versionversion=d76d22b5096c5b05208fd982b153b3f182350b19 <0c2a43cb43786011b48eeab6093db14888258c6b
  8. Affected versionversion=d76d22b5096c5b05208fd982b153b3f182350b19 <5c56bf214af85ca042bf97f8584aab2151035840
  9. Affected versionversion=e630d32162a8aab92d4aaebae0a8d93039257593 <e282a4fdf3c6ee842a720010a8b5f7d77bedd126

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=099a316518508be7c57de4134ef919b2dea948ce <9c58c64ec41290c12490ca7e1df45013fbbb41fd; version=0cae7c285f4771a9927ef592899234d307aea5d4 <2178b0255eae108bb10e5e99658b28641bc06f43; version=0ce5416863965ddd86e066484a306867cf1e01a8 <0c635241a62f2f5da1b48bfffae226d1f86a76ef; version=6.14; version=a33c7492dcdf804b705b6c21018a481414d48038; version=ad9393467fbd788ac2b8a01e492e45ab1b68a1b1 <b146e0b085d9d6bfe838e0a15481cba7d093c67f; version=d76d22b5096c5b05208fd982b153b3f182350b19 <0c2a43cb43786011b48eeab6093db14888258c6b; version=d76d22b5096c5b05208fd982b153b3f182350b19 <5c56bf214af85ca042bf97f8584aab2151035840; version=e630d32162a8aab92d4aaebae0a8d93039257593 <e282a4fdf3c6ee842a720010a8b5f7d77bedd126

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
VectorUnavailable
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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