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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38089

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.4 / 6.6.95 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Public exploit 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: sunrpc: handle SVC_GARBAGE during svc auth processing as auth error tianshuo han reported a remotely-triggerable crash if the client sends a kernel RPC server a specially crafted packet. If decoding the RPC reply fails in such a way that SVC_GARBAGE is returned without setting the rq_accept_statp pointer, then that pointer can be dereferenced and a value stored there. If it's the first time the thread has processed an RPC, then that pointer will be set to NULL and the kernel will crash. In other cases, it could create a memory scribble. The server sunrpc code treats a SVC_GARBAGE return from svc_authenticate or pg_authenticate as if it should send a GARBAGE_ARGS reply. RFC 5531 says that if authentication fails that the RPC should be rejected instead with a status of AUTH_ERR. Handle a SVC_GARBAGE return as an AUTH_ERROR, with a reason of AUTH_BADCRED instead of returning GARBAGE_ARGS in that case. This sidesteps the whole problem of touching the rpc_accept_statp pointer in this situation and avoids the crash.

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:>= 6.3.4, < 6.4>= 6.4.1, < 6.6.95>= 6.7, < 6.12.35>= 6.13, < 6.15.4= 6.4= 6.16

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 6.4 / 6.6.95 / 6.12.35 or later
Fixed in 6.46.6.956.12.35
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.15.4 (or the latest stable release in your current branch: 6.4, 6.6.95, or 6.12.35)

  1. 1. Check current kernel version: uname -r
  2. 2. Determine which stable branch you are on based on current version
  3. 3. For kernel 6.3.4+: upgrade to kernel 6.4 or later
  4. 4. For kernel 6.4.1+: upgrade to kernel 6.6.95 or later
  5. 5. For kernel 6.7+: upgrade to kernel 6.12.35 or later
  6. 6. For kernel 6.13+: upgrade to kernel 6.15.4 or later
  7. 7. Apply kernel upgrade via distribution package manager (e.g., apt-get update && apt-get upgrade linux-image, or yum update kernel, or dnf upgrade kernel)
  8. 8. Reboot system to load the new kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with out-of-tree kernel modules or proprietary drivers

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-2025-38089 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

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