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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38019

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.92 / 6.12.30 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: mlxsw: spectrum_router: Fix use-after-free when deleting GRE net devices The driver only offloads neighbors that are constructed on top of net devices registered by it or their uppers (which are all Ethernet). The device supports GRE encapsulation and decapsulation of forwarded traffic, but the driver will not offload dummy neighbors constructed on top of GRE net devices as they are not uppers of its net devices: # ip link add name gre1 up type gre tos inherit local 192.0.2.1 remote 198.51.100.1 # ip neigh add 0.0.0.0 lladdr 0.0.0.0 nud noarp dev gre1 $ ip neigh show dev gre1 nud noarp 0.0.0.0 lladdr 0.0.0.0 NOARP (Note that the neighbor is not marked with 'offload') When the driver is reloaded and the existing configuration is replayed, the driver does not perform the same check regarding existing neighbors and offloads the previously added one: # devlink dev reload pci/0000:01:00.0 $ ip neigh show dev gre1 nud noarp 0.0.0.0 lladdr 0.0.0.0 offload NOARP If the neighbor is later deleted, the driver will ignore the notification (given the GRE net device is not its upper) and will therefore keep referencing freed memory, resulting in a use-after-free [1] when the net device is deleted: # ip neigh del 0.0.0.0 lladdr 0.0.0.0 dev gre1 # ip link del dev gre1 Fix by skipping neighbor replay if the net device for which the replay is performed is not our upper. [1] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in mlxsw_sp_neigh_entry_update+0x1ea/0x200 Read of size 8 at addr ffff888155b0e420 by task ip/2282 [...] Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x6f/0xa0 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x6f/0x350 print_report+0x108/0x205 kasan_report+0xdf/0x110 mlxsw_sp_neigh_entry_update+0x1ea/0x200 mlxsw_sp_router_rif_gone_sync+0x2a8/0x440 mlxsw_sp_rif_destroy+0x1e9/0x750 mlxsw_sp_netdevice_ipip_ol_event+0x3c9/0xdc0 mlxsw_sp_router_netdevice_event+0x3ac/0x15e0 notifier_call_chain+0xca/0x150 call_netdevice_notifiers_info+0x7f/0x100 unregister_netdevice_many_notify+0xc8c/0x1d90 rtnl_dellink+0x34e/0xa50 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x6fb/0xb70 netlink_rcv_skb+0x131/0x360 netlink_unicast+0x426/0x710 netlink_sendmsg+0x75a/0xc20 __sock_sendmsg+0xc1/0x150 ____sys_sendmsg+0x5aa/0x7b0 ___sys_sendmsg+0xfc/0x180 __sys_sendmsg+0x121/0x1b0 do_syscall_64+0xbb/0x1d0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53

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-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free 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:>= 6.6, < 6.6.92>= 6.7, < 6.12.30>= 6.13, < 6.14.8= 6.15

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 6.6.92 / 6.12.30 / 6.14.8 or later
Fixed in 6.6.926.12.306.14.8
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 6.6.92, 6.12.30, 6.14.8, or a version > 6.15 depending on your current branch

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Determine which version range the current kernel falls into: 6.6.x, 6.7-6.12.x, 6.13-6.14.x, or 6.15.x
  3. Upgrade to the first fixed version in that range: 6.6.92, 6.12.30, 6.14.8, or a version > 6.15
  4. For RHEL/CentOS users: wait for vendor security advisories and apply kernel updates
  5. For Ubuntu/Debian users: run 'apt update && apt upgrade' or 'apt-get dist-upgrade'
  6. For openSUSE users: run 'zypper patch' or 'zypper update'
  7. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  8. Verify the kernel version after reboot with 'uname -r' to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with proprietary kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; always test in non-production environment first

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 $3,200. 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-2025-38019 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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