CVE-2025-38053: Linux kernel · idpf: fix null-ptr-deref in idpf_features_check
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.
Data as of 13 Nov 2026, 18:52 UTC
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Jun 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 13 Nov 2026.
What to do
AI-suggested
A fix for this vulnerability has been implemented in the Linux kernel by modifying the idpf driver to cache the max header length in the netdev private structure, preventing NULL pointer dereference. Users should apply the official kernel updates that include this fix once available. No other mitigation steps are indicated.
Description
CVE-2025-38053 is a medium severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's idpf driver that causes a NULL pointer dereference in the idpf_features_check function. This occurs because the vport pointer used to access hardware-supported TX packet header length can be NULL during device reset. The issue has been fixed by caching the max header length value in the netdev private structure to avoid dereferencing a NULL pointer.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38053 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dabe349f7882ff1407a784d54d8541909329088 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf1e751c5a5611aa037ab44cca955c141eb68dcc (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6f5e9c8cb680c3cb9771fd9fa114319cbc4f514 (opens in a new tab)