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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38542

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-16
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: net: appletalk: Fix device refcount leak in atrtr_create() When updating an existing route entry in atrtr_create(), the old device reference was not being released before assigning the new device, leading to a device refcount leak. Fix this by calling dev_put() to release the old device reference before holding the new one.

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:>= 2.6.13, < 5.4.296>= 5.5, < 5.10.240>= 5.11, < 5.15.189>= 5.16, < 6.1.146>= 6.2, < 6.6.99>= 6.7, < 6.12.39>= 6.13, < 6.15.7= 2.6.12= 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 / 5.15.189 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2965.10.2405.15.189
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux kernel 5.4.296+, 5.10.240+, 5.15.189+, or 6.1.146+ (or Debian kernel 5.10.214-1+ for Debian 11)

  1. Identify your current kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. For Debian 11 systems: Run `apt update && apt upgrade` to install the latest kernel packages that include the fix
  3. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  4. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version is >= 5.4.296, >=5.10.240, >=5.15.189, or >=6.1.146 depending on your kernel branch
  5. Alternatively, for enterprise distributions, apply the vendor patch commit 473f3eadfc73b0fb6d8dee5829d19a5772e387f7 and rebuild the kernel
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility impacts with custom modules or older software; ensure backup and test in non-production environment 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

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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-2025-38542 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data