Impact
Based on the description, the likely attack vector is local. The vulnerability is a NULL pointer dereference in the Marvell Embedded Units (mvebu) GPIO driver during system suspend and resume. When a GPIO bank that does not possess PWM functionality is suspended, the driver calls mvebu_pwm_suspend() with a NULL mvpwm field, causing the kernel to dereference a NULL pointer and trigger an oops. The resulting crash terminates the kernel and forces a reboot, which constitutes a denial of service condition. The flaw is a classic NULL pointer dereference (CWE-476) and does not directly provide code execution or privilege escalation, but it does compromise availability for the local system.
Affected Systems
The issue affects the Linux kernel on Marvell Armada 370/XP boards that use the mvebu PWM subsystem. Versions of the kernel before the patch that adds a NULL check before calling mvebu_pwm_suspend()/resume are vulnerable. The affected CPE is linux:linux_kernel. Distributions such as Yocto, Debian, or Ubuntu running kernel 6 the mvebu driver should verify whether their kernel build includes the fix.
Risk and Exploitability
Based on the description, the exploitability and attack vector are inferred. The flaw has a high impact severity because a single kernel crash during suspend or resume EPSS score is not available and the vulnerability is not listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. Exploitation requires local privileged access to trigger a power‑cycle, for example by a user or malicious driver that initiates a power‑cycle. Although the attack vector is local, it can be abused by rogue processes or by an attacker with physical or administrative access, raising the risk to moderate‑high until a patch is applied.
OpenCVE Enrichment