CVE-2025-38689

MEDIUM

Linux Kernel 6.16-6.16.2 - NULL Pointer Dereference in avx512_status()

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/fpu: Fix NULL dereference in avx512_status() Problem ------- With CONFIG_X86_DEBUG_FPU enabled, reading /proc/[kthread]/arch_status causes a warning and a NULL pointer dereference. This is because the AVX-512 timestamp code uses x86_task_fpu() but doesn't check it for NULL. CONFIG_X86_DEBUG_FPU addles that function for kernel threads (PF_KTHREAD specifically), making it return NULL. The point of the warning was to ensure that kernel threads only access task->fpu after going through kernel_fpu_begin()/_end(). Note: all kernel tasks exposed in /proc have a valid task->fpu. Solution -------- One option is to silence the warning and check for NULL from x86_task_fpu(). However, that warning is fairly fresh and seems like a defense against misuse of the FPU state in kernel threads. Instead, stop outputting AVX-512_elapsed_ms for kernel threads altogether. The data was garbage anyway because avx512_timestamp is only updated for user threads, not kernel threads. If anyone ever wants to track kernel thread AVX-512 use, they can come back later and do it properly, separate from this bug fix. [ dhansen: mostly rewrite changelog ]

Scores

CVSS v3 5.5
EPSS 0.0013
EPSS Percentile 2.7%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-476
Status published
Products (9)
linux/Kernel 6.16.0 - 6.16.2linux
Linux/Linux < 6.16
Linux/Linux 22aafe3bcb67472effdea1ccf0df20280192bbaf - 2ca887e81095b99d890a8878841f36f4920181e6
Linux/Linux 22aafe3bcb67472effdea1ccf0df20280192bbaf - 31cd31c9e17ece125aad27259501a2af69ccb020
Linux/Linux 6.16
Linux/Linux 6.16.2 - 6.16.*
Linux/Linux 6.17
linux/linux_kernel 6.17 rc1
linux/linux_kernel 6.16 - 6.16.2
Published Sep 04, 2025
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026