// For flags

CVE-2025-22031

PCI/bwctrl: Fix NULL pointer dereference on bus number exhaustion

Severity Score

5.5
*CVSS v3

Exploit Likelihood

*EPSS

Affected Versions

*CPE

Public Exploits

0
*Multiple Sources

Exploited in Wild

-
*KEV

Decision

-
*SSVC
Descriptions

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: PCI/bwctrl: Fix NULL pointer dereference on bus number exhaustion When BIOS neglects to assign bus numbers to PCI bridges, the kernel
attempts to correct that during PCI device enumeration. If it runs out
of bus numbers, no pci_bus is allocated and the "subordinate" pointer in
the bridge's pci_dev remains NULL. The PCIe bandwidth controller erroneously does not check for a NULL
subordinate pointer and dereferences it on probe. Bandwidth control of unusable devices below the bridge is of questionable
utility, so simply error out instead. This mirrors what PCIe hotplug does
since commit 62e4492c3063 ("PCI: Prevent NULL dereference during pciehp
probe"). The PCI core emits a message with KERN_INFO severity if it has run out of
bus numbers. PCIe hotplug emits an additional message with KERN_ERR
severity to inform the user that hotplug functionality is disabled at the
bridge. A similar message for bandwidth control does not seem merited,
given that its only purpose so far is to expose an up-to-date link speed
in sysfs and throttle the link speed on certain laptops with limited
Thermal Design Power. So error out silently. User-visible messages: pci 0000:16:02.0: bridge configuration invalid ([bus 00-00]), reconfiguring [...] pci_bus 0000:45: busn_res: [bus 45-74] end is updated to 74 pci 0000:16:02.0: devices behind bridge are unusable because [bus 45-74] cannot be assigned for them [...] pcieport 0000:16:02.0: pciehp: Hotplug bridge without secondary bus, ignoring [...] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference RIP: pcie_update_link_speed pcie_bwnotif_enable pcie_bwnotif_probe pcie_port_probe_service really_probe

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: PCI/bwctrl: Fix NULL pointer dereference on bus number exhaustion When BIOS neglects to assign bus numbers to PCI bridges, the kernel attempts to correct that during PCI device enumeration. If it runs out of bus numbers, no pci_bus is allocated and the "subordinate" pointer in the bridge's pci_dev remains NULL. The PCIe bandwidth controller erroneously does not check for a NULL subordinate pointer and dereferences it on probe. Bandwidth control of unusable devices below the bridge is of questionable utility, so simply error out instead. This mirrors what PCIe hotplug does since commit 62e4492c3063 ("PCI: Prevent NULL dereference during pciehp probe"). The PCI core emits a message with KERN_INFO severity if it has run out of bus numbers. PCIe hotplug emits an additional message with KERN_ERR severity to inform the user that hotplug functionality is disabled at the bridge. A similar message for bandwidth control does not seem merited, given that its only purpose so far is to expose an up-to-date link speed in sysfs and throttle the link speed on certain laptops with limited Thermal Design Power. So error out silently. User-visible messages: pci 0000:16:02.0: bridge configuration invalid ([bus 00-00]), reconfiguring [...] pci_bus 0000:45: busn_res: [bus 45-74] end is updated to 74 pci 0000:16:02.0: devices behind bridge are unusable because [bus 45-74] cannot be assigned for them [...] pcieport 0000:16:02.0: pciehp: Hotplug bridge without secondary bus, ignoring [...] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference RIP: pcie_update_link_speed pcie_bwnotif_enable pcie_bwnotif_probe pcie_port_probe_service really_probe

*Credits: N/A
CVSS Scores
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Complete
* Common Vulnerability Scoring System
SSVC
  • Decision:-
Exploitation
-
Automatable
-
Tech. Impact
-
* Organization's Worst-case Scenario
Timeline
  • 2024-12-29 CVE Reserved
  • 2025-04-16 CVE Published
  • 2025-04-16 CVE Updated
  • 2025-04-17 EPSS Updated
  • ---------- Exploited in Wild
  • ---------- KEV Due Date
  • ---------- First Exploit
CWE
CAPEC
Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions
Vendor Product Version Other Status
Vendor Product Version Other Status <-- --> Vendor Product Version Other Status
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 6.13 < 6.13.11
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 6.13 < 6.13.11"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 6.13 < 6.14.2
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 6.13 < 6.14.2"
en
Affected
Linux
Search vendor "Linux"
Linux Kernel
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel"
>= 6.13 < 6.15-rc1
Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 6.13 < 6.15-rc1"
en
Affected