CVE-2025-38516

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-38516?

CVE-2025-38516 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Qualcomm pinctrl-msm driver allows user-space applications to trigger a kernel BUG() and potentially crash the system by requesting interrupts on pins that lack interrupt logic. This affects Linux systems using Qualcomm MSM chipsets with specific GPIO configurations. The vulnerability requires local user access to exploit.

5.5 MEDIUM

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Qualcomm pinctrl-msm driver allows user-space applications to trigger a kernel BUG() and potentially crash the system by requesting interrupts on pins that lack interrupt logic. This affects Linux systems using Qualcomm MSM chipsets with specific GPIO configurations. The vulnerability requires local user access to exploit.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with Qualcomm pinctrl-msm driver

Versions: Kernel versions before the fix commits (specific versions vary by distribution)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems with Qualcomm MSM chipsets where specific GPIO pins (like UFS-reset) are configured without interrupt logic but registered as GPIOs.

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

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

🟠

Likely Case

Local denial of service through kernel crash when malicious or buggy user-space applications request invalid interrupts.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper access controls preventing unauthorized users from executing GPIO monitoring tools.

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

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or compromised applications could crash the kernel, affecting system stability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires local user access and knowledge of vulnerable GPIO pin numbers. The gpiomon command example demonstrates the trigger.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits: 1d57f7132662e96aace3b8a000616efde289aae1, 275605a8b48002fe98675a5c06f3e39c09067ff2, 3f8fc02c2582c1dfad1785e9c7bc8b4e1521af0a, 6a89563ccf9cd0d745e2291302878a061508573f, 93712205ce2f1fb047739494c0399a26ea4f0890

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

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits. 2. For distributions: Use package manager (apt/yum/dnf) to install latest kernel updates. 3. Reboot system to load patched kernel.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict GPIO access

Linux

Limit user access to GPIO monitoring tools and devices to prevent exploitation.

chmod 600 /dev/gpio*
setfacl -m u:root:rw- /dev/gpio*

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict access controls to prevent non-privileged users from executing GPIO-related commands.
Monitor system logs for gpiomon or similar GPIO monitoring tool usage and investigate unauthorized activity.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and if Qualcomm pinctrl-msm driver is loaded: lsmod | grep pinctrl_msm and uname -r

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is updated to include fix commits and test with gpiomon on known vulnerable pin (requires caution).

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel panic logs mentioning msm_gpio_irq_set_type
System crash/reboot events
gpiomon command execution in audit logs

Network Indicators:

None - local exploitation only

SIEM Query:

EventID=6008 OR Source="Kernel" AND EventText="BUG" OR ProcessName="gpiomon"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-38516

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 (2.2th percentile)

Published: August 16, 2025

Last Updated: January 7, 2026

🔗 References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d57f7132662e96aace3b8a000616efde289aae1 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/275605a8b48002fe98675a5c06f3e39c09067ff2 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3f8fc02c2582c1dfad1785e9c7bc8b4e1521af0a Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6a89563ccf9cd0d745e2291302878a061508573f Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/93712205ce2f1fb047739494c0399a26ea4f0890 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/97c9c7daeeb00c6e1d5e84084041f79c2d2dce22 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb4b08a095b1fa4b3fca782757517e4e9a917d8e Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc145e02d6b8494c48f91958d52fa76b7e577f7b Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html Third Party Advisory,Mailing List
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html Third Party Advisory,Mailing List

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict GPIO access

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

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