Linux Kernel: NULL Pointer Dereference (CVE-2025-37801)
Published Last modified Sources: Debian LTS, SUSE, BSI, CVE.org, EUVD, Msrc Update Guide
What is affected, what to do
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: spi: spi-imx: Add check for spi_imx_setupxfer() Add check for the return value of spi_imx_setupxfer(). spi_imx->rx and spi_imx->tx function pointer can be NULL when spi_imx_setupxfer() return error, and make NULL pointer dereference. Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000 Call trace: 0x0 spi_imx_pio_transfer+0x50/0xd8 spi_imx_transfer_one+0x18c/0x858 spi_transfer_one_message+0x43c/0x790 __spi_pump_transfer_message+0x238/0x5d4 __spi_sync+0x2b0/0x454 spi_write_then_read+0x11c/0x200
Update Linux Kernel to version 6.1.136, Linux Kernel to version 6.6.89, Linux Kernel to version 6.12.26.
- Affected
- Linux Kernel
lt 5.19..6.1.136 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.2..6.6.89 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.7..6.12.26 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.13..6.14.5
- Linux Kernel
- Fixed in
- Linux Kernel
6.1.136 - Linux Kernel
6.6.89 - Linux Kernel
6.12.26 - Linux Kernel
6.14.5 - Linux Kernel
6.15
- Linux Kernel
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Metrics
7.8
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3
7.8
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: Debian LTS, SUSE, BSI, CVE.org, EUVD, Msrc Update Guide
0.2 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 11.7
Show all metrics
- Severity
- High
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 48.94 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 7.8 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 7.8
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.2 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 11.7
- Elevated — this CVE ranks above at least 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
- CISA assessment (SSVC)
- Exploitation: none known · not automatable · Technical impact: total
- Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 15 October 2026
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: spi: spi-imx: Add check for spi_imx_setupxfer() Add check for the return value of spi_imx_setupxfer(). spi_imx->rx and spi_imx->tx function pointer can be NULL when spi_imx_setupxfer() return error, and make NULL pointer dereference. Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000 Call trace: 0x0 spi_imx_pio_transfer+0x50/0xd8 spi_imx_transfer_one+0x18c/0x858 spi_transfer_one_message+0x43c/0x790 __spi_pump_transfer_message+0x238/0x5d4 __spi_sync+0x2b0/0x454 spi_write_then_read+0x11c/0x200
Source: Debian LTS Advisories, suse_csaf, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, NVD (NIST), CVE.org (MITRE), ENISA EUVD, cvelistv5, Microsoft Security Update Guide
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
|
| Dell | PowerProtect Data Domain OS |
|
|
Vendors and products
Affected operating systems
| Linux | debian | linux-6.1 | bullseye |
| Linux | linux | linux_kernel | 6.15 |
| Linux | linux | linux_kernel | — |
References & sources
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/2fea0d6d7b5d27fbf55512d51851ba0a346ede52
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/2b4479eb462ecb39001b38dfb331fc6028dedac8
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/185d376875ea6fb4256b9dc97ee0b4d2b0fdd399
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/055ef73bb1afc3f783a9a13b496770a781964a07
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/951a04ab3a2db4029debfa48d380ef834b93207e
- lists.debian.orgdebian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Record modifiedCISA ADP
CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: no
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After SSVC assessment added —{"id":"CVE-2025-37801","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-10-15T21:45:18.978744Z"}Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Record modifiedCVE Program
Show 2 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Reference added —https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.htmlReference removed https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/05/msg00045.html—Source identifier: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Record modifiedLinux
New references:- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/055ef73bb1afc3f783a9a13b496770a781964a07
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/185d376875ea6fb4256b9dc97ee0b4d2b0fdd399
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b4479eb462ecb39001b38dfb331fc6028dedac8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fea0d6d7b5d27fbf55512d51851ba0a346ede52
and 1 more reference
Show 15 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/055ef73bb1afc3f783a9a13b496770a781964a07Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/185d376875ea6fb4256b9dc97ee0b4d2b0fdd399Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b4479eb462ecb39001b38dfb331fc6028dedac8Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fea0d6d7b5d27fbf55512d51851ba0a346ede52Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/951a04ab3a2db4029debfa48d380ef834b93207eReference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/055ef73bb1afc3f783a9a13b496770a781964a07—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/185d376875ea6fb4256b9dc97ee0b4d2b0fdd399—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b4479eb462ecb39001b38dfb331fc6028dedac8—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fea0d6d7b5d27fbf55512d51851ba0a346ede52—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/951a04ab3a2db4029debfa48d380ef834b93207e—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/055ef73bb1afc3f783a9a13b496770a781964a07 Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/185d376875ea6fb4256b9dc97ee0b4d2b0fdd399 Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b4479eb462ecb39001b38dfb331fc6028dedac8 Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fea0d6d7b5d27fbf55512d51851ba0a346ede52 Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/951a04ab3a2db4029debfa48d380ef834b93207e Types: Patch—Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record modifiedLinux
CVSS V3.1: AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After CVSS added —AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2025-37801"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2025-37801.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2025-37801 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>