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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38328

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.295 / 5.10.239 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: jffs2: check jffs2_prealloc_raw_node_refs() result in few other places Fuzzing hit another invalid pointer dereference due to the lack of checking whether jffs2_prealloc_raw_node_refs() completed successfully. Subsequent logic implies that the node refs have been allocated. Handle that. The code is ready for propagating the error upwards. KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000008-0x000000000000000f] CPU: 1 PID: 5835 Comm: syz-executor145 Not tainted 5.10.234-syzkaller #0 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.12.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:jffs2_link_node_ref+0xac/0x690 fs/jffs2/nodelist.c:600 Call Trace: jffs2_mark_erased_block fs/jffs2/erase.c:460 [inline] jffs2_erase_pending_blocks+0x688/0x1860 fs/jffs2/erase.c:118 jffs2_garbage_collect_pass+0x638/0x1a00 fs/jffs2/gc.c:253 jffs2_reserve_space+0x3f4/0xad0 fs/jffs2/nodemgmt.c:167 jffs2_write_inode_range+0x246/0xb50 fs/jffs2/write.c:362 jffs2_write_end+0x712/0x1110 fs/jffs2/file.c:302 generic_perform_write+0x2c2/0x500 mm/filemap.c:3347 __generic_file_write_iter+0x252/0x610 mm/filemap.c:3465 generic_file_write_iter+0xdb/0x230 mm/filemap.c:3497 call_write_iter include/linux/fs.h:2039 [inline] do_iter_readv_writev+0x46d/0x750 fs/read_write.c:740 do_iter_write+0x18c/0x710 fs/read_write.c:866 vfs_writev+0x1db/0x6a0 fs/read_write.c:939 do_pwritev fs/read_write.c:1036 [inline] __do_sys_pwritev fs/read_write.c:1083 [inline] __se_sys_pwritev fs/read_write.c:1078 [inline] __x64_sys_pwritev+0x235/0x310 fs/read_write.c:1078 do_syscall_64+0x30/0x40 arch/x86/entry/common.c:46 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x67/0xd1 Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.

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:>= 2.6.18, < 5.4.295>= 5.5, < 5.10.239>= 5.11, < 5.15.186>= 5.16, < 6.1.142>= 6.2, < 6.6.95>= 6.7, < 6.12.35>= 6.13, < 6.15.4
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0

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 5.4.295 / 5.10.239 / 5.15.186 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2955.10.2395.15.186
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel version 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186, or 6.1.142 (or later stable releases) depending on the current kernel branch in use

  1. Identify the current kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine the appropriate upgrade target based on the current kernel branch: for 5.4.x series upgrade to 5.4.295 or later; for 5.10.x series upgrade to 5.10.239 or later; for 5.15.x series upgrade to 5.15.186 or later; for 6.1.x series upgrade to 6.1.142 or later
  3. On Debian 11 (Bullseye), check if a kernel security update is available via `apt-get update && apt-cache policy linux-image-*`
  4. Apply the kernel upgrade using the distribution's package manager (e.g., `apt-get install linux-image-<version>` on Debian)
  5. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version with `uname -r` and confirming the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with proprietary kernel modules or specific hardware drivers; ensure backups and compatibility testing are performed 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 $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-2025-38328 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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