Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-22065

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel 6.7 – 6.12.23

Published
16 April 2025
Modified
01 October 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0025 16th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-22065 is a medium-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).

Operationally, ranked at the 16th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-24 (Fail in Known State) and SI-11 (Error Handling) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: idpf: fix adapter NULL pointer dereference on reboot With SRIOV enabled, idpf ends up calling into idpf_remove() twice. First via idpf_shutdown() and then again when idpf_remove() calls into sriov_disable(), because…

more

the VF devices use the idpf driver, hence the same remove routine. When that happens, it is possible for the adapter to be NULL from the first call to idpf_remove(), leading to a NULL pointer dereference. echo 1 > /sys/class/net/<netif>/device/sriov_numvfs reboot BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000020 ... RIP: 0010:idpf_remove+0x22/0x1f0 [idpf] ... ? idpf_remove+0x22/0x1f0 [idpf] ? idpf_remove+0x1e4/0x1f0 [idpf] pci_device_remove+0x3f/0xb0 device_release_driver_internal+0x19f/0x200 pci_stop_bus_device+0x6d/0x90 pci_stop_and_remove_bus_device+0x12/0x20 pci_iov_remove_virtfn+0xbe/0x120 sriov_disable+0x34/0xe0 idpf_sriov_configure+0x58/0x140 [idpf] idpf_remove+0x1b9/0x1f0 [idpf] idpf_shutdown+0x12/0x30 [idpf] pci_device_shutdown+0x35/0x60 device_shutdown+0x156/0x200 ... Replace the direct idpf_remove() call in idpf_shutdown() with idpf_vc_core_deinit() and idpf_deinit_dflt_mbx(), which perform the bulk of the cleanup, such as stopping the init task, freeing IRQs, destroying the vports and freeing the mailbox. This avoids the calls to sriov_disable() in addition to a small netdev cleanup, and destroying workqueues, which don't seem to be required on shutdown.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

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Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
6.7 — 6.12.23 · 6.13 — 6.13.11 · 6.14 — 6.14.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SC-24 Fail in Known State
  • SI-17 Fail-safe Procedures
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

preventrecover

Ensures the driver and kernel enter a known safe state on shutdown/reboot instead of dereferencing a NULL adapter pointer when SRIOV triggers duplicate idpf_remove() calls.

prevent

Requires explicit NULL checks and graceful error handling inside idpf_remove/idpf_shutdown paths so the second call does not cause a kernel panic.

preventrecover

Mandates fail-safe shutdown procedures that avoid destructive side-effects such as calling sriov_disable() from within the same driver's remove routine.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices (static analysis, code review, safe coding standards) directly prevent NULL dereference bugs during development.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing can detect NULL dereference defects before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates defensive coding practices that can prevent NULL dereferences.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify input validation and pointer-safety rules.

prevents

Secure architecture principles encourage defensive design that avoids unsafe pointer use.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly require NULL-pointer checks and safe dereference patterns.

References