Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-38115
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net_sched: sch_sfq: fix a potential crash on gso_skb handling SFQ has an assumption of always being able to queue at least one packet. However, after the blamed commit, sch->q.len can be inflated by packets in sch->gso_skb, and an enqueue() on an empty SFQ qdisc can be followed by an immediate drop. Fix sfq_drop() to properly clear q->tail in this situation. ip netns add lb ip link add dev to-lb type veth peer name in-lb netns lb ethtool -K to-lb tso off # force qdisc to requeue gso_skb ip netns exec lb ethtool -K in-lb gro on # enable NAPI ip link set dev to-lb up ip -netns lb link set dev in-lb up ip addr add dev to-lb 192.168.20.1/24 ip -netns lb addr add dev in-lb 192.168.20.2/24 tc qdisc replace dev to-lb root sfq limit 100 ip netns exec lb netserver netperf -H 192.168.20.2 -l 100 & netperf -H 192.168.20.2 -l 100 & netperf -H 192.168.20.2 -l 100 & netperf -H 192.168.20.2 -l 100 &
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 analysisAllocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.
General guidance for the memory leak 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
>= 4.16, < 5.4.295>= 5.5, < 5.10.239>= 5.11, < 5.15.186>= 5.16, < 6.1.142>= 6.2, < 6.6.94>= 6.7, < 6.12.34>= 6.13, < 6.15.3= 6.16
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 11.0CVSS 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 · scoped5.4.2955.10.2395.15.186
Upgrade to Linux kernel 5.4.295+, 5.10.239+, 5.15.186+, or 6.1.142+ as appropriate for your current branch
- Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
- Compare the running version against the affected version ranges: >= 4.16 and < 5.4.295, >= 5.5 and < 5.10.239, >= 5.11 and < 5.15.186, >= 5.16 and < 6.1.142
- If running an affected version, schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
- Upgrade the Linux kernel to a fixed version: 5.4.295 or later for 5.4.x kernels, 5.10.239 or later for 5.10.x kernels, 5.15.186 or later for 5.15.x kernels, or 6.1.142 or later for 6.1.x kernels
- For Debian 11 systems, consider upgrading to Debian 12 (bookworm) which includes a newer fixed kernel, or apply the vendor patch from https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5814a7fc3abb41f63f2d44c9d3ff9d4e62965b72 via backporting
- Reboot the system into the new kernel
- Verify the fix is active by confirming the kernel version after reboot
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-38115 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-38115 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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