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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38035

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.294 / 5.10.238 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: nvmet-tcp: don't restore null sk_state_change queue->state_change is set as part of nvmet_tcp_set_queue_sock(), but if the TCP connection isn't established when nvmet_tcp_set_queue_sock() is called then queue->state_change isn't set and sock->sk->sk_state_change isn't replaced. As such we don't need to restore sock->sk->sk_state_change if queue->state_change is NULL. This avoids NULL pointer dereferences such as this: [ 286.462026][ C0] BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 [ 286.462814][ C0] #PF: supervisor instruction fetch in kernel mode [ 286.463796][ C0] #PF: error_code(0x0010) - not-present page [ 286.464392][ C0] PGD 8000000140620067 P4D 8000000140620067 PUD 114201067 PMD 0 [ 286.465086][ C0] Oops: Oops: 0010 [#1] SMP KASAN PTI [ 286.465559][ C0] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 1628 Comm: nvme Not tainted 6.15.0-rc2+ #11 PREEMPT(voluntary) [ 286.466393][ C0] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-3.fc41 04/01/2014 [ 286.467147][ C0] RIP: 0010:0x0 [ 286.467420][ C0] Code: Unable to access opcode bytes at 0xffffffffffffffd6. [ 286.467977][ C0] RSP: 0018:ffff8883ae008580 EFLAGS: 00010246 [ 286.468425][ C0] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff88813fd34100 RCX: ffffffffa386cc43 [ 286.469019][ C0] RDX: 1ffff11027fa68b6 RSI: 0000000000000008 RDI: ffff88813fd34100 [ 286.469545][ C0] RBP: ffff88813fd34160 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: ffffed1027fa682c [ 286.470072][ C0] R10: ffff88813fd34167 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff88813fd344c3 [ 286.470585][ C0] R13: ffff88813fd34112 R14: ffff88813fd34aec R15: ffff888132cdd268 [ 286.471070][ C0] FS: 00007fe3c04c7d80(0000) GS:ffff88840743f000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 286.471644][ C0] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 286.472543][ C0] CR2: ffffffffffffffd6 CR3: 000000012daca000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 [ 286.473500][ C0] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [ 286.474467][ C0] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000ffff07f0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [ 286.475453][ C0] Call Trace: [ 286.476102][ C0] <IRQ> [ 286.476719][ C0] tcp_fin+0x2bb/0x440 [ 286.477429][ C0] tcp_data_queue+0x190f/0x4e60 [ 286.478174][ C0] ? __build_skb_around+0x234/0x330 [ 286.478940][ C0] ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0xb0 [ 286.479659][ C0] ? __pfx_tcp_data_queue+0x10/0x10 [ 286.480431][ C0] ? tcp_try_undo_loss+0x640/0x6c0 [ 286.481196][ C0] ? seqcount_lockdep_reader_access.constprop.0+0x82/0x90 [ 286.482046][ C0] ? kvm_clock_get_cycles+0x14/0x30 [ 286.482769][ C0] ? ktime_get+0x66/0x150 [ 286.483433][ C0] ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0xb0 [ 286.484146][ C0] tcp_rcv_established+0x6e4/0x2050 [ 286.484857][ C0] ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0xb0 [ 286.485523][ C0] ? ipv4_dst_check+0x160/0x2b0 [ 286.486203][ C0] ? __pfx_tcp_rcv_established+0x10/0x10 [ 286.486917][ C0] ? lock_release+0x217/0x2c0 [ 286.487595][ C0] tcp_v4_do_rcv+0x4d6/0x9b0 [ 286.488279][ C0] tcp_v4_rcv+0x2af8/0x3e30 [ 286.488904][ C0] ? raw_local_deliver+0x51b/0xad0 [ 286.489551][ C0] ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0xb0 [ 286.490198][ C0] ? __pfx_tcp_v4_rcv+0x10/0x10 [ 286.490813][ C0] ? __pfx_raw_local_deliver+0x10/0x10 [ 286.491487][ C0] ? __pfx_nf_confirm+0x10/0x10 [nf_conntrack] [ 286.492275][ C0] ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0xb0 [ 286.492900][ C0] ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x8f/0x370 [ 286.493579][ C0] ip_local_deliver_finish+0x297/0x420 [ 286.494268][ C0] ip_local_deliver+0x168/0x430 [ 286.494867][ C0] ? __pfx_ip_local_deliver+0x10/0x10 [ 286.495498][ C0] ? __pfx_ip_local_deliver_finish+0x10/0x10 [ 286.496204][ C0] ? ip_rcv_finish_core+0x19a/0x1f20 [ 286.496806][ C0] ? lock_release+0x217/0x2c0 [ 286.497414][ C0] ip_rcv+0x455/0x6e0 [ 286.497945][ C0] ? __pfx_ip_rcv+0x10/0x10 [ ---truncated---

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-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference 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:>= 5.0, < 5.4.294>= 5.5, < 5.10.238>= 5.11, < 5.15.185>= 5.16, < 6.1.141>= 6.2, < 6.6.93>= 6.7, < 6.12.31>= 6.13, < 6.14.9= 6.15
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 5.4.294 / 5.10.238 / 5.15.185 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2945.10.2385.15.185
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel: 5.4.294+ (for 5.4.x branch), 5.10.238+ (for 5.5-5.10.x branch), 5.15.185+ (for 5.11-5.15.x branch), or 6.1.141+ (for 5.16-6.1.x branch) | Debian 11: Update to Debian 12 (bookworm) or apply upstream kernel patch 17e58be5b49f58bf17799a504f55c2d05ab2ecdc

  1. Identify the current kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. Determine which version range your current kernel falls into (5.0-5.4.x, 5.5-5.10.x, 5.11-5.15.x, or 5.16-6.1.x)
  3. For Debian 11 (bullseye), check for available kernel updates via 'apt update && apt-cache policy linux-image-*'
  4. Upgrade to the minimum fixed version for your branch: 5.4.294, 5.10.238, 5.15.185, or 6.1.141 respectively
  5. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel: 'sudo reboot'
  6. Verify the new kernel version is running with 'uname -r'
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding third-party kernel modules; ensure compatibility before production deployment

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 $2,850. 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-2025-38035 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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