CVE-2025-38689
CVE-2025-38689CVE-2025-38689
linux / linux_kernel
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
Scoring
| CVSS | 5.5 () |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
| Last modified | 2026-10-19 |