CVE-2025-38412: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-38412 is a vulnerability discovered in the Linux kernel's dell-wmi-sysman driver, specifically affecting the WMI data block retrieval in sysfs callbacks. The vulnerability was disclosed on July 25, 2025, and primarily affects the platform/x86 component (NVD, Red Hat).

The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of ACPI package structures retrieved through WMI sysfs callbacks in the dell-wmi-sysman driver. The issue occurs after retrieving WMI data blocks in sysfs callbacks, where the code fails to properly check the validity of the data before dereferencing their content. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 with a vector string of CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H and is associated with CWE-129 (Red Hat).

The vulnerability can lead to kernel crashes or potential memory leaks when exploited. A local user with sysfs access can trigger these conditions by crafting malformed ACPI responses or through race condition exploitation (Red Hat).

As a temporary mitigation, system administrators can prevent the dell-wmi-sysman module from being loaded. Red Hat provides guidance on blacklisting kernel modules to prevent automatic loading. For permanent remediation, users should apply the latest kernel updates when available (Red Hat).