NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2025-38693

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: dvb-frontends: w7090p: fix null-ptr-deref in w7090p_tuner_write_serpar and w7090p_tuner_read_serpar In w7090p_tuner_write_serpar, msg is controlled by user. When msg[0].buf is null and msg[0].len is zero, former checks on msg[0].buf would be passed. If accessing msg[0].buf[2] without sanity check, null pointer deref would happen. We add check on msg[0].len to prevent crash. Similar commit: commit 0ed554fd769a ("media: dvb-usb: az6027: fix null-ptr-deref in az6027_i2c_xfer()")

Published · last modified .

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.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (6.4th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 6.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-38693: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38693?
CVE-2025-38693 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-09-04.
How severe is CVE-2025-38693?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-38693 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.