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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2025-38609: PM / devfreq: Check governor before using governor->name

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.16% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 2731c68f536fddcb71332db7f8d78c5eb4684c04, 631e101728df2a86b8fb761b49fad9712c651f8a, 75323a49aa603cf5484a6d74d0d329e86d756e11; azl3 kernel 6.6.96.2-2 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.104.2-1; cbl2 kernel 5.15.186.1-1 on CBL Mariner 2.0 5.15.200.1-1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 2731c68f536fddcb71332db7f8d78c5eb4684c04, 631e101728df2a86b8fb761b49fad9712c651f8a, 75323a49aa603cf5484a6d74d0d329e86d756e11; azl3 kernel 6.6.96.2-2 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.104.2-1; cbl2 kernel 5.15.186.1-1 on CBL Mariner 2.0 5.15.200.1-1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: PM / devfreq: Check governor before using governor->name Commit 96ffcdf239de ("PM / devfreq: Remove redundant governor_name from struct devfreq") removes governor_name and uses governor->name to replace it. But devfreq->governor may be NULL and directly using devfreq->governor->name may cause null pointer exception. Move the check of governor to before using governor->name.

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Aug 19, 2025
Updated
Nov 5, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 5th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel
debiandebian linux

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • debian debian linux11.0
  • linux linux kernel5.16 and later · before 6.1.148
  • linux linux kernel6.2 and later · before 6.6.102
  • linux linux kernel5.11 and later · before 5.15.190
  • linux linux kernel6.13 and later · before 6.15.10
  • linux linux kernel6.16 and later · before 6.16.1
  • linux linux kernel6.7 and later · before 6.12.42

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 5.11affected
    • 96ffcdf239de6f9970178bb7d643e16fd9e68ab9 and later · before f0479e878d4beb45e73c03e574c59f0a23ccd176affected · git
    • 96ffcdf239de6f9970178bb7d643e16fd9e68ab9 and later · before 631e101728df2a86b8fb761b49fad9712c651f8aaffected · git
    • 96ffcdf239de6f9970178bb7d643e16fd9e68ab9 and later · before 81f50619370045120c133bfdda5b320c8c97d41eaffected · git
    • 96ffcdf239de6f9970178bb7d643e16fd9e68ab9 and later · before d5632359dbc44862fc1ed04093c1f57529830261affected · git
    • 96ffcdf239de6f9970178bb7d643e16fd9e68ab9 and later · before 2731c68f536fddcb71332db7f8d78c5eb4684c04affected · git
    • 96ffcdf239de6f9970178bb7d643e16fd9e68ab9 and later · before 75323a49aa603cf5484a6d74d0d329e86d756e11affected · git
    • 96ffcdf239de6f9970178bb7d643e16fd9e68ab9 and later · before bab7834c03820eb11269bc48f07c3800192460d2affected · git
    • before 5.11not affected · semver
    • 5.15.190 and later · up to and including 5.15.*not affected · semver

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12linuxbefore 6.1.148-16.1.148-1
Debian:13linuxbefore 6.12.43-16.12.43-1
Debian:14linuxbefore 6.16.3-16.16.3-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2025-38606Aug 19, 2025 · wifi: ath12k: Avoid accessing uninitialized arvif->ar during beacon miss
    22Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2025-38608Aug 19, 2025 · bpf, ktls: Fix data corruption when using bpf_msg_pop_data() in ktls
    22Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2025-38614Aug 19, 2025 · eventpoll: Fix semi-unbounded recursion
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux2731c68f536fddcb71332db7f8d78c5eb4684c04Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux631e101728df2a86b8fb761b49fad9712c651f8aVendor (CNA)
Linux Linux75323a49aa603cf5484a6d74d0d329e86d756e11Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux81f50619370045120c133bfdda5b320c8c97d41eVendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxbab7834c03820eb11269bc48f07c3800192460d2Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxd5632359dbc44862fc1ed04093c1f57529830261Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxf0479e878d4beb45e73c03e574c59f0a23ccd176Vendor (CNA)
azl3 kernel 6.6.96.2-2 on Azure Linux 3.06.6.104.2-1 · CBL-Mariner ReleasesMicrosoft (MSRC)
cbl2 kernel 5.15.186.1-1 on CBL Mariner 2.05.15.200.1-1 · CBL-Mariner ReleasesMicrosoft (MSRC)
debian:linux6.1.148-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

  1. SSVC exploitation— → none
  2. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (7 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records