CVE-2025-38362 – A null pointer dereference vulnerability in the... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-38362?

CVE-2025-38362 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). A null pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AMD display driver could cause kernel crashes or denial of service. This affects systems using AMD graphics hardware with HDCP content protection enabled. The vulnerability requires local access to trigger.

📋 TL;DR

A null pointer dereference vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AMD display driver could cause kernel crashes or denial of service. This affects systems using AMD graphics hardware with HDCP content protection enabled. The vulnerability requires local access to trigger.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with AMD display driver (drm/amd/display)

Versions: Specific kernel versions containing the vulnerable code (check git commits for exact ranges)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions with affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires AMD graphics hardware and HDCP functionality to be triggered. Systems without AMD GPUs or HDCP usage are not affected.

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel panic leading to system crash and denial of service, potentially causing data loss or system instability.

🟠

Likely Case

System crash or kernel panic when HDCP encryption is attempted without an active display, requiring system reboot.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if HDCP is not used or if proper access controls prevent local exploitation.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access to trigger, not remotely exploitable.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or processes could crash the system, affecting availability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: LOW - Simple null pointer dereference, but requires local access and specific conditions.

Exploitation requires triggering HDCP encryption without an active display, which may require specific privileged operations.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits: 1ebcdf38887949def1a553ff3e45c98ed95a3cd0, 34d3e10ab905f06445f8dbd8a3d9697095e71bae, 4ce9f2dc9ff7cc410e8c5d936ec551e26b9599a9, 5148c7ea69e9c5bf2f05081190f45ba96d3d1e7a, b3005145eab98d36777660b8893466e4f630ae1c

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable HDCP functionality

linux

Prevent HDCP encryption from being triggered by disabling HDCP support in display settings.

Restrict local access

all

Limit local user access to systems with AMD graphics hardware.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict access controls to prevent unauthorized local users from accessing the system.
Monitor system logs for kernel panic events and implement redundancy for critical systems.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if kernel version is affected by examining kernel source or checking if system uses AMD graphics with HDCP capability.

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version contains the fix commits: 'uname -r' and check git log for commit hashes.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel panic messages
NULL pointer dereference errors in kernel logs
System crash/reboot events

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("NULL pointer dereference" OR "kernel panic" OR "Oops")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-38362

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE: CWE-476

EPSS Score: 0.01% exploit probability (2.1th percentile)

Published: July 25, 2025

Last Updated: December 16, 2025

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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