# CVE-2025-38265: serial: jsm: fix NPE during jsm_uart_port_init

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel jsm serial driver causes a system crash during device initialization, leading to denial of service.

- **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:** 10 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-64904, BELL-CVE-2025-38265, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38265, GHSA-r57g-7w2j-cxmf, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38265, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38265

## What is CVE-2025-38265?

CVE-2025-38265 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 10 Jul 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:

serial: jsm: fix NPE during jsm_uart_port_init

No device was set which caused serial_base_ctrl_add to crash.

 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000050
 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI
 CPU: 16 UID: 0 PID: 368 Comm: (udev-worker) Not tainted 6.12.25-amd64 #1  Debian 6.12.25-1
 RIP: 0010:serial_base_ctrl_add+0x96/0x120
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  serial_core_register_port+0x1a0/0x580
  ? __setup_irq+0x39c/0x660
  ? __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x111/0x310
  jsm_uart_port_init+0xe8/0x180 [jsm]
  jsm_probe_one+0x1f4/0x410 [jsm]
  local_pci_probe+0x42/0x90
  pci_device_probe+0x22f/0x270
  really_probe+0xdb/0x340
  ? pm_runtime_barrier+0x54/0x90
  ? __pfx___driver_attach+0x10/0x10
  __driver_probe_device+0x78/0x110
  driver_probe_device+0x1f/0xa0
  __driver_attach+0xba/0x1c0
  bus_for_each_dev+0x8c/0xe0
  bus_add_driver+0x112/0x1f0
  driver_register+0x72/0xd0
  jsm_init_module+0x36/0xff0 [jsm]
  ? __pfx_jsm_init_module+0x10/0x10 [jsm]
  do_one_initcall+0x58/0x310
  do_init_module+0x60/0x230

Tested with Digi Neo PCIe 8 port card.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38265?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38265?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38265 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38265 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-2025-38265 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38265 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 10 Jul 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-2025-38265 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-2025-38265/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38265/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38265
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38265
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38265

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38265/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.