NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2025-38271

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: prevent a NULL deref in rtnl_create_link() At the time rtnl_create_link() is running, dev->netdev_ops is NULL, we must not use netdev_lock_ops() or risk a NULL deref if CONFIG_NET_SHAPER is defined. Use netif_set_group() instead of dev_set_group(). RIP: 0010:netdev_need_ops_lock include/net/netdev_lock.h:33 [inline] RIP: 0010:netdev_lock_ops include/net/netdev_lock.h:41 [inline] RIP: 0010:dev_set_group+0xc0/0x230 net/core/dev_api.c:82 Call Trace: <TASK> rtnl_create_link+0x748/0xd10 net/core/rtnetlink.c:3674 rtnl_newlink_create+0x25c/0xb00 net/core/rtnetlink.c:3813 __rtnl_newlink net/core/rtnetlink.c:3940 [inline] rtnl_newlink+0x16d6/0x1c70 net/core/rtnetlink.c:4055 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x7cf/0xb70 net/core/rtnetlink.c:6944 netlink_rcv_skb+0x208/0x470 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2534 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1313 [inline] netlink_unicast+0x75b/0x8d0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1339 netlink_sendmsg+0x805/0xb30 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1883 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:712 [inline]

EPSS: 0.001 (3.5th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38271?
CVE-2025-38271 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-07-10.
How severe is CVE-2025-38271?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.