Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-38634

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel 5.14 – 5.15.190

Published
22 August 2025
Modified
17 June 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 0.0016 5th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-38634 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 5th 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-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: power: supply: cpcap-charger: Fix null check for power_supply_get_by_name In the cpcap_usb_detect() function, the power_supply_get_by_name() function may return `NULL` instead of an error pointer. To prevent potential null pointer dereferences, Added…

more

a null check.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-38020Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38364Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-37844Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38304Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38683Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-26744Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-37958Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38319Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2025-38569Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2023-52686Same product: Debian Debian Linux

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
5.14 — 5.15.190 · 5.16 — 6.1.148 · 6.2 — 6.6.102
debian
debian linux
11.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
  • SI-11 Error Handling
  • SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Requires validation of all inputs and return values (including power_supply_get_by_name) before use, directly preventing the null dereference.

prevent

Mandates consistent, safe handling of error conditions and unexpected return values such as NULL from kernel APIs.

prevent

Requires developer testing and static analysis that would detect missing NULL checks on power_supply_get_by_name before release.

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