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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38551

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.40 / 6.15.8 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: virtio-net: fix recursived rtnl_lock() during probe() The deadlock appears in a stack trace like: virtnet_probe() rtnl_lock() virtio_config_changed_work() netdev_notify_peers() rtnl_lock() It happens if the VMM sends a VIRTIO_NET_S_ANNOUNCE request while the virtio-net driver is still probing. The config_work in probe() will get scheduled until virtnet_open() enables the config change notification via virtio_config_driver_enable().

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-667

Shared resources are accessed without correct locking, so concurrent operations interleave into inconsistent — and sometimes exploitable — states, or deadlock the service outright. These bugs are subtle and timing-dependent. The fix is correct, consistent locking or atomic operations around every shared resource.

General guidance for the improper locking 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:>= 6.11.2, < 6.12.40>= 6.13, < 6.15.8= 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 6.12.40 / 6.15.8 or later
Fixed in 6.12.406.15.8
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.12.40 or later for 6.12.y branch; Linux Kernel 6.15.8 or later for 6.13-6.15.y branches; subsequent release after 6.16 for 6.16 branch

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. If running kernel version is >= 6.11.2 and < 6.12.40, upgrade to kernel 6.12.40 or later
  3. If running kernel version is >= 6.13.0 and < 6.15.8, upgrade to kernel 6.15.8 or later
  4. If running kernel version is 6.16.x, upgrade to a version after 6.16 that includes the fix (check distribution vendor repositories for patched 6.16 or next stable release)
  5. Reboot into the new kernel after upgrade
  6. Alternatively, apply the vendor patch commit 3859f137b3c1fa1f0031d54263234566bdcdd7aa to the kernel source and rebuild
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree modules; ensure compatibility with system hardware and any custom kernel modules before rebooting

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-2025-38551 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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