NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2025-39897

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: xilinx: axienet: Add error handling for RX metadata pointer retrieval Add proper error checking for dmaengine_desc_get_metadata_ptr() which can return an error pointer and lead to potential crashes or undefined behaviour if the pointer retrieval fails. Properly handle the error by unmapping DMA buffer, freeing the skb and returning early to prevent further processing with invalid data.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (17.4th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 17th percentile — 17.4% 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-2025-39897: held from 0.003 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: -0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 6a91b846af85a24241decd686269e8e038eb13d1, 6.8, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 6.17

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-39897?
CVE-2025-39897 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2025-10-01.
How severe is CVE-2025-39897?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.