# CVE-2025-38648: spi: stm32: Check for cfg availability in stm32_spi_probe

> A missing null check in the STM32 SPI driver probe function can cause a kernel crash, 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:** 22 Aug 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-66623, BELL-CVE-2025-38648, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38648, GHSA-59c7-fqjc-f8fc, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-38648, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38648, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38648

## What is CVE-2025-38648?

CVE-2025-38648 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 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:

spi: stm32: Check for cfg availability in stm32_spi_probe

The stm32_spi_probe function now includes a check to ensure that the
pointer returned by of_device_get_match_data is not NULL before
accessing its members. This resolves a warning where a potential NULL
pointer dereference could occur when accessing cfg->has_device_mode.

Before accessing the 'has_device_mode' member, we verify that 'cfg' is
not NULL. If 'cfg' is NULL, an error message is logged.

This change ensures that the driver does not attempt to access
configuration data if it is not available, thus preventing a potential
system crash due to a NULL pointer dereference.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38648?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38648?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38648 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38648 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-2025-38648 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38648 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 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-2025-38648 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-2025-38648/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38648/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38648
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38648
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38648

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38648/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.