Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-23136

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel 3.18 – 5.4.292

Published
16 April 2025
Modified
14 July 2026
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 0.0019 9th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-23136 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 9th 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — 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: thermal: int340x: Add NULL check for adev Not all devices have an ACPI companion fwnode, so adev might be NULL. This is similar to the commit cd2fd6eab480 ("platform/x86: int3472: Check…

more

for adev == NULL"). Add a check for adev not being set and return -ENODEV in that case to avoid a possible NULL pointer deref in int3402_thermal_probe(). Note, under the same directory, int3400_thermal_probe() has such a check. [ rjw: Subject edit, added Fixes: ]

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-23353Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-53336Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-71124Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-31481Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-58237Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-37974Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-21799Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-22016Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-52893Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-22065Same product: Linux Linux Kernel

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
3.18 — 5.4.292 · 5.5 — 5.10.236 · 5.11 — 5.15.180

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SI-7 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires validation of inputs (including device/fwnode pointers) before use, which would have prevented the missing adev NULL check that triggers the CWE-476 dereference.

prevent

Mandates timely application of patches that add the required NULL check, eliminating the vulnerable int3402_thermal_probe() path in deployed kernels.

detect

Requires integrity verification of kernel modules and drivers, enabling detection of the flawed code version before or during execution.

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