Vulnerability Database

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Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2025-23147 — linux / linux_kernel

NULL Pointer Dereference

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

i3c: Add NULL pointer check in i3c_master_queue_ibi()

The I3C master driver may receive an IBI from a target device that has not been probed yet. In such cases, the master calls i3c_master_queue_ibi() to queue an IBI work task, leading to "Unable to handle kernel read from unreadable memory" and resulting in a kernel panic.

Typical IBI handling flow:

  1. The I3C master scans target devices and probes their respective drivers.
  2. The target device driver calls i3c_device_request_ibi() to enable IBI and assigns dev->ibi = ibi.
  3. The I3C master receives an IBI from the target device and calls i3c_master_queue_ibi() to queue the target device driver’s IBI handler task.

However, since target device events are asynchronous to the I3C probe sequence, step 3 may occur before step 2, causing dev->ibi to be NULL, leading to a kernel panic.

Add a NULL pointer check in i3c_master_queue_ibi() to prevent accessing an uninitialized dev->ibi, ensuring stability.

  • Published: May 1, 2025
  • Updated: Nov 6, 2025
  • CVE: CVE-2025-23147
  • Severity: Medium
  • Exploit:
  • CISA KEV:

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: Medium
  • Score: 5.5
  • AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWEs:

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A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

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Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

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