CVE-2025-38689
5.5
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Exploitability: 1.8 / Impact: 3.6
Source: NVD
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
x86/fpu: Fix NULL dereference in avx512_status()
Problem
-------
With CONFIG_X86_DEBUG_FPU enabled, reading /proc/[kthread]/arch_status
causes a warning and a NULL pointer dereference.
This is because the AVX-512 timestamp code uses x86_task_fpu() but
doesn't check it for NULL. CONFIG_X86_DEBUG_FPU addles that function
for kernel threads (PF_KTHREAD specifically), making it return NULL.
The point of the warning was to ensure that kernel threads only access
task->fpu after going through kernel_fpu_begin()/_end(). Note: all
kernel tasks exposed in /proc have a valid task->fpu.
Solution
--------
One option is to silence the warning and check for NULL from
x86_task_fpu(). However, that warning is fairly fresh and seems like a
defense against misuse of the FPU state in kernel threads.
Instead, stop outputting AVX-512_elapsed_ms for kernel threads
altogether. The data was garbage anyway because avx512_timestamp is
only updated for user threads, not kernel threads.
If anyone ever wants to track kernel thread AVX-512 use, they can come
back later and do it properly, separate from this bug fix.
[ dhansen: mostly rewrite changelog ]
Affected (2)
Products: Linux: Linux Kernel
Configuration A
| Vulnerable Software | Affected Versions |
|---|---|
| From 6.16 to 6.16.2 |
Related CWEs
References (2)
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Patch
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Patch
Timeline
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