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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38386

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.296 / 5.10.240 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: ACPICA: Refuse to evaluate a method if arguments are missing As reported in [1], a platform firmware update that increased the number of method parameters and forgot to update a least one of its callers, caused ACPICA to crash due to use-after-free. Since this a result of a clear AML issue that arguably cannot be fixed up by the interpreter (it cannot produce missing data out of thin air), address it by making ACPICA refuse to evaluate a method if the caller attempts to pass fewer arguments than expected to it.

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:< 5.4.296>= 5.5, < 5.10.240>= 5.11, < 5.15.187>= 5.16, < 6.1.144>= 6.2, < 6.6.97>= 6.7, < 6.12.37>= 6.13, < 6.15.6= 6.16
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 5.4.296 / 5.10.240 / 5.15.187 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2965.10.2405.15.187
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 5.4.296+ / 5.10.240+ / 5.15.187+ / 6.1.144+ or Debian 11.0 with vendor security updates applied

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. Determine which kernel branch you are using (e.g., 5.4.x, 5.10.x, 5.15.x, or 6.1.x)
  3. 3. Upgrade to a kernel version that includes the fix: for 5.4.x upgrade to 5.4.296 or later, for 5.10.x upgrade to 5.10.240 or later, for 5.15.x upgrade to 5.15.187 or later, for 6.1.x upgrade to 6.1.144 or later
  4. 4. On Debian 11.0, apply vendor security updates: run `apt update && apt upgrade` to receive the patched kernel package
  5. 5. After upgrading, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  6. 6. Verify the fix is applied by checking `uname -r` shows a version >= the appropriate fixed version for your branch
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce regressions in drivers or features; test in staging environment 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-2025-38386 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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