CVE-2025-38549: 
Linux Kernel vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-38549 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel that affects the drm/mediatek component. The vulnerability was discovered and disclosed in June 2024, with fixes being released by August 2025. The issue specifically involves the mtkdrmgem_init function's handling of GEM object allocation (Ubuntu Security).

The vulnerability exists in the mtkdrmgem_obj function where there is no validation check when attempting to allocate a GEM object of 0 bytes. This oversight can lead to a kernel panic if a userspace application attempts to allocate a 0x0 GBM buffer. The issue was confirmed through testing on an MT8188 platform (Ubuntu Security).

When exploited, this vulnerability can cause a kernel panic, leading to system instability and potential denial of service conditions. The vulnerability has been assigned a medium severity CVSS score of 5.5, indicating moderate potential impact (Ubuntu Security).

The vulnerability has been fixed in multiple Linux kernel versions across different distributions. Ubuntu has released patches for various kernel versions including 6.8.0-40.40 for noble, 5.15.0-121.131 for jammy, and 5.4.0-192.212 for focal. The fix implements a check in mtkdrmgem_init to validate buffer sizes before allocation (Ubuntu Security).