CVE-2025-40255

Published Dec 4, 2025 Modified Apr 15, 2026

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: core: prevent NULL deref in generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower() The ethtool tsconfig Netlink path can trigger a null pointer dereference. A call chain such as: tsconfig_prepare_data() -> dev_get_hwtstamp_phylib() -> vlan_hwtstamp_get() -> generic_hwtstamp_get_lower() -> generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower() results in generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower() being called with kernel_cfg->ifr as NULL. The generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower() function does not expect a NULL ifr and dereferences it, leading to a system crash. Fix this by adding a NULL check for kernel_cfg->ifr in generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower(). If ifr is NULL, return -EINVAL.

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References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-40255? +
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: core: prevent NULL deref in generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower() The ethtool tsconfig Netlink path can trigger a null pointer dereference. A call chain such as: tsconfig_prepare_data() -> dev_get_hwtstamp_phylib() -> vlan_hwtstamp_get() -> generic_hwtstamp_get_lower() -> generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower() results in generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower() being called with kernel_cfg->ifr as NULL. The generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower() function does not expect a NULL ifr and dereferences it, leading to a system crash. Fix this by adding a NULL check for kernel_cfg->ifr in generic_hwtstamp_ioctl_lower(). If ifr is NULL, return -EINVAL.
How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-40255? +
You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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