CVE-2025-38480

comedi: Fix use of uninitialized data in insn_rw_emulate_bits()

State
Published
Severity
Not scored
Published
Jul 28, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Reserved
Apr 16, 2025

Read the record on cve.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

comedi: Fix use of uninitialized data in insn_rw_emulate_bits()

For Comedi `INSN_READ` and `INSN_WRITE` instructions on "digital" subdevices (subdevice types `COMEDI_SUBD_DI`, `COMEDI_SUBD_DO`, and `COMEDI_SUBD_DIO`), it is common for the subdevice driver not to have `insn_read` and `insn_write` handler functions, but to have an `insn_bits` handler function for handling Comedi `INSN_BITS` instructions. In that case, the subdevice's `insn_read` and/or `insn_write` function handler pointers are set to point to the `insn_rw_emulate_bits()` function by `__comedi_device_postconfig()`.

For `INSN_WRITE`, `insn_rw_emulate_bits()` currently assumes that the supplied `data[0]` value is a valid copy from user memory. It will at least exist because `do_insnlist_ioctl()` and `do_insn_ioctl()` in "comedi_fops.c" ensure at lease `MIN_SAMPLES` (16) elements are allocated. However, if `insn->n` is 0 (which is allowable for `INSN_READ` and `INSN_WRITE` instructions, then `data[0]` may contain uninitialized data, and certainly contains invalid data, possibly from a different instruction in the array of instructions handled by `do_insnlist_ioctl()`. This will result in an incorrect value being written to the digital output channel (or to the digital input/output channel if configured as an output), and may be reflected in the internal saved state of the channel.

Fix it by returning 0 early if `insn->n` is 0, before reaching the code that accesses `data[0]`. Previously, the function always returned 1 on success, but it is supposed to be the number of data samples actually read or written up to `insn->n`, which is 0 in this case.

Scores

The record has no CVSS score.

Weaknesses

The record names no weakness.

Affected Products

ProductVersions
LinuxLinux
  • ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4 to before 4c2981bf30401adfcdbfece4ab6f411f7c5875a1Affected
  • ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4 to before 16256d7efcf7acc9f39abe21522c4c6b77f67c00Affected
  • ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4 to before c53570e62b5b28bdb56bb563190227f8307817a5Affected
  • ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4 to before 3050d197d6bc9ef128944a70210f42d2430b3000Affected
  • ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4 to before 10f9024a8c824a41827fff1fefefb314c98e2c88Affected
  • ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4 to before 2af1e7d389c2619219171d23f5b96dbcbb7f9656Affected
  • ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4 to before 3ab55ffaaf75d0c7b68e332c1cdcc1b0e0044870Affected
  • ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4 to before e9cb26291d009243a4478a7ffb37b3a9175bfce9Affected
LinuxLinux
  • 2.6.29Affected
  • before 2.6.29Not affected
  • 5.4.297 through 5.4.*Not affected
  • 5.10.241 through 5.10.*Not affected
  • 5.15.190 through 5.15.*Not affected
  • 6.1.147 through 6.1.*Not affected
  • 6.6.100 through 6.6.*Not affected
  • 6.12.40 through 6.12.*Not affected
  • 6.15.8 through 6.15.*Not affected
  • 6.16 and laterNot affected

References

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