CVE-2025-38198: Linux kernel · fbcon: Make sure modelist not set on unregistered console
Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · fixed in f28f1f578cd810779d01999c60618cda14c281dd : update Linux kernel when convenient.
Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 21:04 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA
Thin evidence
One scorer or none- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
- Automatable
- Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
- Technical impact
- Limited control over the software or limited information exposure
CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-11-05.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in f28f1f578cd810779d01999c60618cda14c281dd, cedc1b63394a866bf8663a3e40f4546f1d28c8d8, b3237d451bf3a4490cb1a76f3b7c91d9888f1c4b +2
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Jul 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 5 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbcon: Make sure modelist not set on unregistered console It looks like attempting to write to the "store_modes" sysfs node will run afoul of unregistered consoles: UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbcon.c:122:28 index -1 is out of range for type 'fb_info *[32]' ... fbcon_info_from_console+0x192/0x1a0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbcon.c:122 fbcon_new_modelist+0xbf/0x2d0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbcon.c:3048 fb_new_modelist+0x328/0x440 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbmem.c:673 store_modes+0x1c9/0x3e0 drivers/video/fbdev/core/fbsysfs.c:113 dev_attr_store+0x55/0x80 drivers/base/core.c:2439 static struct fb_info *fbcon_registered_fb[FB_MAX]; ... static signed char con2fb_map[MAX_NR_CONSOLES]; ... static struct fb_info *fbcon_info_from_console(int console) ... return fbcon_registered_fb[con2fb_map[console]]; If con2fb_map contains a -1 things go wrong here. Instead, return NULL, as callers of fbcon_info_from_console() are trying to compare against existing "info" pointers, so error handling should kick in correctly.
References
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b3237d451bf3a4490cb1a76f3b7c91d9888f1c4b (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/519ba75728ee8cd561dce25fc52a2ec5c47171dc (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f28f1f578cd810779d01999c60618cda14c281dd (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/54b28f7c567dd659e5f9562f518e4d7f3f6a367b (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/cedc1b63394a866bf8663a3e40f4546f1d28c8d8 (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html (opens in a new tab)
- cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html (opens in a new tab)