Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38400

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

NVD · unedited

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfs: Clean up /proc/net/rpc/nfs when nfs_fs_proc_net_init() fails. syzbot reported a warning below [1] following a fault injection in nfs_fs_proc_net_init(). [0] When nfs_fs_proc_net_init() fails, /proc/net/rpc/nfs is not removed. Later, rpc_proc_exit() tries to remove /proc/net/rpc, and the warning is logged as the directory is not empty. Let's handle the error of nfs_fs_proc_net_init() properly. [0]: FAULT_INJECTION: forcing a failure. name failslab, interval 1, probability 0, space 0, times 0 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 6120 Comm: syz.2.27 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc1-syzkaller-00010-g2c4a1f3fe03e #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 05/07/2025 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl (lib/dump_stack.c:123) should_fail_ex (lib/fault-inject.c:73 lib/fault-inject.c:174) should_failslab (mm/failslab.c:46) kmem_cache_alloc_noprof (mm/slub.c:4178 mm/slub.c:4204) __proc_create (fs/proc/generic.c:427) proc_create_reg (fs/proc/generic.c:554) proc_create_net_data (fs/proc/proc_net.c:120) nfs_fs_proc_net_init (fs/nfs/client.c:1409) nfs_net_init (fs/nfs/inode.c:2600) ops_init (net/core/net_namespace.c:138) setup_net (net/core/net_namespace.c:443) copy_net_ns (net/core/net_namespace.c:576) create_new_namespaces (kernel/nsproxy.c:110) unshare_nsproxy_namespaces (kernel/nsproxy.c:218 (discriminator 4)) ksys_unshare (kernel/fork.c:3123) __x64_sys_unshare (kernel/fork.c:3190) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130) </TASK> [1]: remove_proc_entry: removing non-empty directory 'net/rpc', leaking at least 'nfs' WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 6120 at fs/proc/generic.c:727 remove_proc_entry+0x45e/0x530 fs/proc/generic.c:727 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 6120 Comm: syz.2.27 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc1-syzkaller-00010-g2c4a1f3fe03e #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 05/07/2025 RIP: 0010:remove_proc_entry+0x45e/0x530 fs/proc/generic.c:727 Code: 3c 02 00 0f 85 85 00 00 00 48 8b 93 d8 00 00 00 4d 89 f0 4c 89 e9 48 c7 c6 40 ba a2 8b 48 c7 c7 60 b9 a2 8b e8 33 81 1d ff 90 <0f> 0b 90 90 e9 5f fe ff ff e8 04 69 5e ff 90 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 RSP: 0018:ffffc90003637b08 EFLAGS: 00010282 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff88805f534140 RCX: ffffffff817a92c8 RDX: ffff88807da99e00 RSI: ffffffff817a92d5 RDI: 0000000000000001 RBP: ffff888033431ac0 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffff888033431a00 R13: ffff888033431ae4 R14: ffff888033184724 R15: dffffc0000000000 FS: 0000555580328500(0000) GS:ffff888124a62000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f71733743e0 CR3: 000000007f618000 CR4: 00000000003526f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> sunrpc_exit_net+0x46/0x90 net/sunrpc/sunrpc_syms.c:76 ops_exit_list net/core/net_namespace.c:200 [inline] ops_undo_list+0x2eb/0xab0 net/core/net_namespace.c:253 setup_net+0x2e1/0x510 net/core/net_namespace.c:457 copy_net_ns+0x2a6/0x5f0 net/core/net_namespace.c:574 create_new_namespaces+0x3ea/0xa90 kernel/nsproxy.c:110 unshare_nsproxy_namespaces+0xc0/0x1f0 kernel/nsproxy.c:218 ksys_unshare+0x45b/0xa40 kernel/fork.c:3121 __do_sys_unshare kernel/fork.c:3192 [inline] __se_sys_unshare kernel/fork.c:3190 [inline] __x64_sys_unshare+0x31/0x40 kernel/fork.c:3190 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0x490 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7fa1a6b8e929 Code: ff ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c ---truncated---

Technical summary

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Linux KernelOperating system

Affected:>= 5.4.276, < 5.4.296>= 5.10.217, < 5.10.240>= 5.15.159, < 5.15.187>= 6.1.91, < 6.1.144>= 6.6.31, < 6.6.97>= 6.8.10, < 6.12.37>= 6.13, < 6.15.6= 6.16

Debian LinuxOperating system

Affected:= 11.0

CVSS breakdown

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

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+, or 6.1.144+ | Debian 11 kernel update

1. Identify the kernel version in use: `uname -r`
2. Obtain the kernel source code for your current version
3. Locate the `nfs_fs_proc_net_init` function in `fs/nfs/client.c`
4. Apply the fix from commit 3c94212b57bedec3a386ef3da1ef00602f5c3d1d which adds proper error handling to clean up `/proc/net/rpc/nfs` when initialization fails
5. Alternatively, upgrade to a fixed kernel version (see upgrade_path) which includes this bugfix
6. For Debian 11 (Bullseye), apply the Debian-specific kernel security update that addresses this CVE
7. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel

Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with custom modules or specific hardware drivers

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

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-38400 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2025-38400?

The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.

The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
A config change or rule that shut the vector down
A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon

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
No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to 5.4.296 / 5.10.240 or later

Severity 5.5 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.2%

Affects: Linux Kernel

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Get a fix

Estimated effortfrom ~9 hrs

ComplexityModerate

Typical engagementfrom $1,600

What a fix involves

We scope it with you and confirm a fixed quote
A specialist builds a reviewed fix
You deploy it to staging first
Optional re-test once it’s live

We specialise in CVE remediation. Send your environment and we’ll scope CVE-2025-38400 and return a fixed quote.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Remediation

References