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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38129

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.34 / 6.15.3 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: page_pool: Fix use-after-free in page_pool_recycle_in_ring syzbot reported a uaf in page_pool_recycle_in_ring: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in lock_release+0x151/0xa30 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5862 Read of size 8 at addr ffff8880286045a0 by task syz.0.284/6943 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 6943 Comm: syz.0.284 Not tainted 6.13.0-rc3-syzkaller-gdfa94ce54f41 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 09/13/2024 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x241/0x360 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0x169/0x550 mm/kasan/report.c:489 kasan_report+0x143/0x180 mm/kasan/report.c:602 lock_release+0x151/0xa30 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5862 __raw_spin_unlock_bh include/linux/spinlock_api_smp.h:165 [inline] _raw_spin_unlock_bh+0x1b/0x40 kernel/locking/spinlock.c:210 spin_unlock_bh include/linux/spinlock.h:396 [inline] ptr_ring_produce_bh include/linux/ptr_ring.h:164 [inline] page_pool_recycle_in_ring net/core/page_pool.c:707 [inline] page_pool_put_unrefed_netmem+0x748/0xb00 net/core/page_pool.c:826 page_pool_put_netmem include/net/page_pool/helpers.h:323 [inline] page_pool_put_full_netmem include/net/page_pool/helpers.h:353 [inline] napi_pp_put_page+0x149/0x2b0 net/core/skbuff.c:1036 skb_pp_recycle net/core/skbuff.c:1047 [inline] skb_free_head net/core/skbuff.c:1094 [inline] skb_release_data+0x6c4/0x8a0 net/core/skbuff.c:1125 skb_release_all net/core/skbuff.c:1190 [inline] __kfree_skb net/core/skbuff.c:1204 [inline] sk_skb_reason_drop+0x1c9/0x380 net/core/skbuff.c:1242 kfree_skb_reason include/linux/skbuff.h:1263 [inline] __skb_queue_purge_reason include/linux/skbuff.h:3343 [inline] root cause is: page_pool_recycle_in_ring ptr_ring_produce spin_lock(&r->producer_lock); WRITE_ONCE(r->queue[r->producer++], ptr) //recycle last page to pool page_pool_release page_pool_scrub page_pool_empty_ring ptr_ring_consume page_pool_return_page //release all page __page_pool_destroy free_percpu(pool->recycle_stats); free(pool) //free spin_unlock(&r->producer_lock); //pool->ring uaf read recycle_stat_inc(pool, ring); page_pool can be free while page pool recycle the last page in ring. Add producer-lock barrier to page_pool_release to prevent the page pool from being free before all pages have been recycled. recycle_stat_inc() is empty when CONFIG_PAGE_POOL_STATS is not enabled, which will trigger Wempty-body build warning. Add definition for pool stat macro to fix warning.

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:>= 4.18, < 6.12.34>= 6.13, < 6.15.3

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 6.12.34 / 6.15.3 or later
Fixed in 6.12.346.15.3
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.12.34 or 6.15.3 (depending on which stable branch you follow)

  1. Update the Linux kernel to version 6.12.34 or later (if using the 6.12.y stable branch)
  2. Alternatively, update to version 6.15.3 or later (if using the 6.13.y-6.15.y stable branch)
  3. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  4. Verify the kernel version after reboot using `uname -r`
Caveat No breaking changes expected - this is a bug fix in the page_pool subsystem with no API changes

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-2025-38129 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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