NULL pointer dereference in Linux
CVE-2025-71291
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: misc: bcm_vk: Fix possible null-pointer dereferences in bcm_vk_read() In the function bcm_vk_read(), the pointer entry is checked, indicating that it can be NULL. If entry is NULL and rc is set to -EMSGSIZE, the following code may cause null-pointer dereferences: struct vk_msg_blk tmp_msg = entry->to_h_msg[0]; set_msg_id(&tmp_msg, entry->usr_msg_id); tmp_msg.size = entry->to_h_blks - 1; To prevent these possible null-pointer dereferences, copy to_h_msg, usr_msg_id, and to_h_blks from iter into temporary variables, and return these temporary variables to the application instead of accessing them through a potentially NULL entry.
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: 0.001 (1.8th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 1.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Linux — versions 6.1.165, 5.19, 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2
- Linux Kernel
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-71291?
- CVE-2025-71291 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2026-05-06.
- How severe is CVE-2025-71291?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.