Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38248

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.15.5 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: bridge: mcast: Fix use-after-free during router port configuration The bridge maintains a global list of ports behind which a multicast router resides. The list is consulted during forwarding to ensure multicast packets are forwarded to these ports even if the ports are not member in the matching MDB entry. When per-VLAN multicast snooping is enabled, the per-port multicast context is disabled on each port and the port is removed from the global router port list: # ip link add name br1 up type bridge vlan_filtering 1 mcast_snooping 1 # ip link add name dummy1 up master br1 type dummy # ip link set dev dummy1 type bridge_slave mcast_router 2 $ bridge -d mdb show | grep router router ports on br1: dummy1 # ip link set dev br1 type bridge mcast_vlan_snooping 1 $ bridge -d mdb show | grep router However, the port can be re-added to the global list even when per-VLAN multicast snooping is enabled: # ip link set dev dummy1 type bridge_slave mcast_router 0 # ip link set dev dummy1 type bridge_slave mcast_router 2 $ bridge -d mdb show | grep router router ports on br1: dummy1 Since commit 4b30ae9adb04 ("net: bridge: mcast: re-implement br_multicast_{enable, disable}_port functions"), when per-VLAN multicast snooping is enabled, multicast disablement on a port will disable the per-{port, VLAN} multicast contexts and not the per-port one. As a result, a port will remain in the global router port list even after it is deleted. This will lead to a use-after-free [1] when the list is traversed (when adding a new port to the list, for example): # ip link del dev dummy1 # ip link add name dummy2 up master br1 type dummy # ip link set dev dummy2 type bridge_slave mcast_router 2 Similarly, stale entries can also be found in the per-VLAN router port list. When per-VLAN multicast snooping is disabled, the per-{port, VLAN} contexts are disabled on each port and the port is removed from the per-VLAN router port list: # ip link add name br1 up type bridge vlan_filtering 1 mcast_snooping 1 mcast_vlan_snooping 1 # ip link add name dummy1 up master br1 type dummy # bridge vlan add vid 2 dev dummy1 # bridge vlan global set vid 2 dev br1 mcast_snooping 1 # bridge vlan set vid 2 dev dummy1 mcast_router 2 $ bridge vlan global show dev br1 vid 2 | grep router router ports: dummy1 # ip link set dev br1 type bridge mcast_vlan_snooping 0 $ bridge vlan global show dev br1 vid 2 | grep router However, the port can be re-added to the per-VLAN list even when per-VLAN multicast snooping is disabled: # bridge vlan set vid 2 dev dummy1 mcast_router 0 # bridge vlan set vid 2 dev dummy1 mcast_router 2 $ bridge vlan global show dev br1 vid 2 | grep router router ports: dummy1 When the VLAN is deleted from the port, the per-{port, VLAN} multicast context will not be disabled since multicast snooping is not enabled on the VLAN. As a result, the port will remain in the per-VLAN router port list even after it is no longer member in the VLAN. This will lead to a use-after-free [2] when the list is traversed (when adding a new port to the list, for example): # ip link add name dummy2 up master br1 type dummy # bridge vlan add vid 2 dev dummy2 # bridge vlan del vid 2 dev dummy1 # bridge vlan set vid 2 dev dummy2 mcast_router 2 Fix these issues by removing the port from the relevant (global or per-VLAN) router port list in br_multicast_port_ctx_deinit(). The function is invoked during port deletion with the per-port multicast context and during VLAN deletion with the per-{port, VLAN} multicast context. Note that deleting the multicast router timer is not enough as it only takes care of the temporary multicast router states (1 or 3) and not the permanent one (2). [1] BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in br_multicast_add_router.part.0+0x3f1/0x560 Write of size 8 at addr ffff888004a67328 by task ip/384 [...] Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack ---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-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:>= 5.15, < 6.15.5= 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
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 6.15.5 or later
Fixed in 6.15.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.15.5 or later (or any stable release > 6.16)

  1. Upgrade Linux kernel to version 6.15.5 or later, or to any stable kernel release newer than 6.16
  2. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  3. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version: `uname -r`
Caveat Standard kernel upgrade risks apply - ensure compatibility with userspace tools and drivers 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 $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-2025-38248 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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