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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-37742

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.181 / 6.1.135 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: jfs: Fix uninit-value access of imap allocated in the diMount() function syzbot reports that hex_dump_to_buffer is using uninit-value: ===================================================== BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in hex_dump_to_buffer+0x888/0x1100 lib/hexdump.c:171 hex_dump_to_buffer+0x888/0x1100 lib/hexdump.c:171 print_hex_dump+0x13d/0x3e0 lib/hexdump.c:276 diFree+0x5ba/0x4350 fs/jfs/jfs_imap.c:876 jfs_evict_inode+0x510/0x550 fs/jfs/inode.c:156 evict+0x723/0xd10 fs/inode.c:796 iput_final fs/inode.c:1946 [inline] iput+0x97b/0xdb0 fs/inode.c:1972 txUpdateMap+0xf3e/0x1150 fs/jfs/jfs_txnmgr.c:2367 txLazyCommit fs/jfs/jfs_txnmgr.c:2664 [inline] jfs_lazycommit+0x627/0x11d0 fs/jfs/jfs_txnmgr.c:2733 kthread+0x6b9/0xef0 kernel/kthread.c:464 ret_from_fork+0x6d/0x90 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:148 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:244 Uninit was created at: slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slub.c:4121 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:4164 [inline] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x8e3/0xdf0 mm/slub.c:4320 kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:901 [inline] diMount+0x61/0x7f0 fs/jfs/jfs_imap.c:105 jfs_mount+0xa8e/0x11d0 fs/jfs/jfs_mount.c:176 jfs_fill_super+0xa47/0x17c0 fs/jfs/super.c:523 get_tree_bdev_flags+0x6ec/0x910 fs/super.c:1636 get_tree_bdev+0x37/0x50 fs/super.c:1659 jfs_get_tree+0x34/0x40 fs/jfs/super.c:635 vfs_get_tree+0xb1/0x5a0 fs/super.c:1814 do_new_mount+0x71f/0x15e0 fs/namespace.c:3560 path_mount+0x742/0x1f10 fs/namespace.c:3887 do_mount fs/namespace.c:3900 [inline] __do_sys_mount fs/namespace.c:4111 [inline] __se_sys_mount+0x71f/0x800 fs/namespace.c:4088 __x64_sys_mount+0xe4/0x150 fs/namespace.c:4088 x64_sys_call+0x39bf/0x3c30 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:166 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0x1e0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f ===================================================== The reason is that imap is not properly initialized after memory allocation. It will cause the snprintf() function to write uninitialized data into linebuf within hex_dump_to_buffer(). Fix this by using kzalloc instead of kmalloc to clear its content at the beginning in diMount().

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-908

Memory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.

General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:< 5.15.181>= 5.16, < 6.1.135>= 6.2, < 6.6.88>= 6.7, < 6.12.24>= 6.13, < 6.13.12>= 6.14, < 6.14.3
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.15.181 / 6.1.135 / 6.6.88 or later
Fixed in 5.15.1816.1.1356.6.88
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 5.15.181+, 6.1.135+, 6.6.88+, or 6.12.24+ (depending on your current branch)

  1. Identify current kernel version using `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version`
  2. Compare your kernel version against the affected range: < 5.15.181, >= 5.16 and < 6.1.135, >= 6.2 and < 6.6.88, or >= 6.7 and < 6.12.24
  3. For Debian 11, apply vendor security updates or install a backported kernel with the fix
  4. If affected, upgrade the kernel to version 5.15.181 or higher, 6.1.135 or higher, 6.6.88 or higher, or 6.12.24 or higher (whichever branch you are on)
  5. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  6. Verify the fix by checking `cat /proc/version` shows a patched version
Caveat Standard kernel upgrade risks apply - ensure compatibility with custom modules and system requirements before rebooting

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-37742 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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