CVE-2025-23147: i3c: Add NULL pointer check in i3c_master_queue_ibi()

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-05-01 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i3c: Add NULL pointer check in i3c_master_queue_ibi() The I3C master driver may receive an IBI from a target device that has not been probed yet. In such cases, the master calls `i3c_master_queue_ibi()` to queue an IBI work task, leading to "Unable to handle kernel read from unreadable memory" and resulting in a kernel panic. Typical IBI handling flow: 1. The I3C master scans target devices and probes their respective drivers. 2. The target device driver calls `i3c_device_request_ibi()` to enable IBI and assigns `dev->ibi = ibi`. 3. The I3C master receives an IBI from the target device and calls `i3c_master_queue_ibi()` to queue the target device driver’s IBI handler task. However, since target device events are asynchronous to the I3C probe sequence, step 3 may occur before step 2, causing `dev->ibi` to be `NULL`, leading to a kernel panic. Add a NULL pointer check in `i3c_master_queue_ibi()` to prevent accessing an uninitialized `dev->ibi`, ensuring stability.

Affected products

Debian Linux: 11.0
Linux kernel: from 5.0 before 5.4.293; from 5.5 before 5.10.237; from 5.11 before 5.15.181; from 5.16 before 6.1.135; from 6.2 before 6.6.88; from 6.7 before 6.12.24 — fixed in 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 5.4.293, 6.1.135, 6.12.24, 6.13.12

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.237, 5.15.181, 5.4.293, 6.1.135. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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