dbcve.org
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38321

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.6.95 / 6.12.35 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: smb: Log an error when close_all_cached_dirs fails Under low-memory conditions, close_all_cached_dirs() can't move the dentries to a separate list to dput() them once the locks are dropped. This will result in a "Dentry still in use" error, so add an error message that makes it clear this is what happened: [ 495.281119] CIFS: VFS: \\otters.example.com\share Out of memory while dropping dentries [ 495.281595] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 495.281887] BUG: Dentry ffff888115531138{i=78,n=/} still in use (2) [unmount of cifs cifs] [ 495.282391] WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 2329 at fs/dcache.c:1536 umount_check+0xc8/0xf0 Also, bail out of looping through all tcons as soon as a single allocation fails, since we're already in trouble, and kmalloc() attempts for subseqeuent tcons are likely to fail just like the first one did.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:< 6.6.95>= 6.7, < 6.12.35>= 6.13, < 6.15.4= 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 6.6.95 / 6.12.35 / 6.15.4 or later
Fixed in 6.6.956.12.356.15.4
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel >= 6.6.95, >= 6.12.35, or >= 6.15.4 (or 6.17+)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Check if the version is affected: < 6.6.95, or >= 6.7 and < 6.12.35, or >= 6.13 and < 6.15.4, or exactly 6.16
  3. If affected, upgrade the kernel package through the distribution's package manager (e.g., apt update && apt upgrade linux-image, yum update kernel, or dnf upgrade kernel)
  4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the new kernel version is running with 'uname -r' and confirm it meets one of the fixed versions: >= 6.6.95, >= 6.12.35, >= 6.15.4, or >= 6.17
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require reboot and could have driver compatibility considerations; test in staging first

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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-38321 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-38321 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data