# CVE-2025-38597: drm/rockchip: vop2: fail cleanly if missing a primary plane for a video-port

> A missing check in the Rockchip VOP2 driver causes a null pointer dereference, leading to a system crash when specific video port configurations are used.

- **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:** 19 Aug 2025
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38597, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38597, GHSA-crhg-x4f2-mvmv, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38597, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-38597, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38597, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38597

## What is CVE-2025-38597?

CVE-2025-38597 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Aug 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:

drm/rockchip: vop2: fail cleanly if missing a primary plane for a video-port

Each window of a vop2 is usable by a specific set of video ports, so while
binding the vop2, we look through the list of available windows trying to
find one designated as primary-plane and usable by that specific port.

The code later wants to use drm_crtc_init_with_planes with that found
primary plane, but nothing has checked so far if a primary plane was
actually found.

For whatever reason, the rk3576 vp2 does not have a usable primary window
(if vp0 is also in use) which brought the issue to light and ended in a
null-pointer dereference further down.

As we expect a primary-plane to exist for a video-port, add a check at
the end of the window-iteration and fail probing if none was found.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38597?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38597?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38597 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38597 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-2025-38597 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38597 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Aug 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-2025-38597 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-2025-38597/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38597/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38597
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38597
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38597

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38597/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.