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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38402

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.37 / 6.15.6 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: idpf: return 0 size for RSS key if not supported Returning -EOPNOTSUPP from function returning u32 is leading to cast and invalid size value as a result. -EOPNOTSUPP as a size probably will lead to allocation fail. Command: ethtool -x eth0 It is visible on all devices that don't have RSS caps set. [ 136.615917] Call Trace: [ 136.615921] <TASK> [ 136.615927] ? __warn+0x89/0x130 [ 136.615942] ? __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x322/0x330 [ 136.615953] ? report_bug+0x164/0x190 [ 136.615968] ? handle_bug+0x58/0x90 [ 136.615979] ? exc_invalid_op+0x17/0x70 [ 136.615987] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x1a/0x20 [ 136.616001] ? rss_prepare_get.constprop.0+0xb9/0x170 [ 136.616016] ? __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x322/0x330 [ 136.616028] __alloc_pages_noprof+0xe/0x20 [ 136.616038] ___kmalloc_large_node+0x80/0x110 [ 136.616072] __kmalloc_large_node_noprof+0x1d/0xa0 [ 136.616081] __kmalloc_noprof+0x32c/0x4c0 [ 136.616098] ? rss_prepare_get.constprop.0+0xb9/0x170 [ 136.616105] rss_prepare_get.constprop.0+0xb9/0x170 [ 136.616114] ethnl_default_doit+0x107/0x3d0 [ 136.616131] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x100/0x160 [ 136.616147] genl_rcv_msg+0x1b8/0x2c0 [ 136.616156] ? __pfx_ethnl_default_doit+0x10/0x10 [ 136.616168] ? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10 [ 136.616176] netlink_rcv_skb+0x58/0x110 [ 136.616186] genl_rcv+0x28/0x40 [ 136.616195] netlink_unicast+0x19b/0x290 [ 136.616206] netlink_sendmsg+0x222/0x490 [ 136.616215] __sys_sendto+0x1fd/0x210 [ 136.616233] __x64_sys_sendto+0x24/0x30 [ 136.616242] do_syscall_64+0x82/0x160 [ 136.616252] ? __sys_recvmsg+0x83/0xe0 [ 136.616265] ? syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x10/0x210 [ 136.616275] ? do_syscall_64+0x8e/0x160 [ 136.616282] ? __count_memcg_events+0xa1/0x130 [ 136.616295] ? count_memcg_events.constprop.0+0x1a/0x30 [ 136.616306] ? handle_mm_fault+0xae/0x2d0 [ 136.616319] ? do_user_addr_fault+0x379/0x670 [ 136.616328] ? clear_bhb_loop+0x45/0xa0 [ 136.616340] ? clear_bhb_loop+0x45/0xa0 [ 136.616349] ? clear_bhb_loop+0x45/0xa0 [ 136.616359] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [ 136.616369] RIP: 0033:0x7fd30ba7b047 [ 136.616376] Code: 0c 00 f7 d8 64 89 02 48 c7 c0 ff ff ff ff eb b8 0f 1f 00 f3 0f 1e fa 80 3d bd d5 0c 00 00 41 89 ca 74 10 b8 2c 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 71 c3 55 48 83 ec 30 44 89 4c 24 2c 4c 89 44 [ 136.616381] RSP: 002b:00007ffde1796d68 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002c [ 136.616388] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 000055d7bd89f2a0 RCX: 00007fd30ba7b047 [ 136.616392] RDX: 0000000000000028 RSI: 000055d7bd89f3b0 RDI: 0000000000000003 [ 136.616396] RBP: 00007ffde1796e10 R08: 00007fd30bb4e200 R09: 000000000000000c [ 136.616399] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 000055d7bd89f340 [ 136.616403] R13: 000055d7bd89f3b0 R14: 000055d78943f200 R15: 0000000000000000

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:>= 6.7, < 6.12.37>= 6.13, < 6.15.6= 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 6.12.37 / 6.15.6 or later
Fixed in 6.12.376.15.6
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.12.37+ or 6.15.6+ depending on your current kernel branch

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check which affected kernel series your version belongs to (6.7-6.12.x, 6.13-6.15.x, or 6.16)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.12.37 or later if on the 6.12.x series
  4. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.15.6 or later if on the 6.13-6.15.x series
  5. Upgrade to a version newer than 6.16 that includes the fix if on the 6.16 series
  6. Reboot the system after kernel installation
  7. Verify the fix is applied by running `ethtool -x eth0` on an affected device (one without RSS capabilities) - it should no longer trigger the allocation failure
Caveat Kernel upgrade carries standard risk of compatibility issues with proprietary modules or specific hardware drivers; this is a low-risk bug fix but should be tested in non-production 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 $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-2025-38402 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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