# CVE-2025-37896: spi: spi-mem: Add fix to avoid divide error

> A divide-by-zero error in the Linux kernel SPI memory driver causes a system crash when processing specific flash memory operations.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 20 May 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-37896, GHSA-8g7v-9g36-5jm6, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-37896

## What is CVE-2025-37896?

CVE-2025-37896 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

spi: spi-mem: Add fix to avoid divide error

For some SPI flash memory operations, dummy bytes are not mandatory. For
example, in Winbond SPINAND flash memory devices, the `write_cache` and
`update_cache` operation variants have zero dummy bytes. Calculating the
duration for SPI memory operations with zero dummy bytes causes
a divide error when `ncycles` is calculated in the
spi_mem_calc_op_duration().

Add changes to skip the 'ncylcles' calculation for zero dummy bytes.

Following divide error is fixed by this change:

 Oops: divide error: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI
...

  ? do_trap+0xdb/0x100
  ? do_error_trap+0x75/0xb0
  ? spi_mem_calc_op_duration+0x56/0xb0
  ? exc_divide_error+0x3b/0x70
  ? spi_mem_calc_op_duration+0x56/0xb0
  ? asm_exc_divide_error+0x1b/0x20
  ? spi_mem_calc_op_duration+0x56/0xb0
  ? spinand_select_op_variant+0xee/0x190 [spinand]
  spinand_match_and_init+0x13e/0x1a0 [spinand]
  spinand_manufacturer_match+0x6e/0xa0 [spinand]
  spinand_probe+0x357/0x7f0 [spinand]
  ? kernfs_activate+0x87/0xd0
  spi_mem_probe+0x7a/0xb0
  spi_probe+0x7d/0x130

Weakness: CWE-369 (Divide By Zero)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-37896?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-37896?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-37896 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-37896 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-37896 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-37896 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 20 May 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-37896 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37896/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37896/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-37896
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-37896
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-37896

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-37896/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.