Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-38712
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hfsplus: don't use BUG_ON() in hfsplus_create_attributes_file() When the volume header contains erroneous values that do not reflect the actual state of the filesystem, hfsplus_fill_super() assumes that the attributes file is not yet created, which later results in hitting BUG_ON() when hfsplus_create_attributes_file() is called. Replace this BUG_ON() with -EIO error with a message to suggest running fsck tool.
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 analysisAttacker-controllable input can reach an assertion that aborts the process when it fails, so a check meant for debugging becomes a denial-of-service in production. A single crafted request takes the service down. The fix is to handle unexpected input gracefully on reachable paths rather than asserting on it.
General guidance for the reachable assertion 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
>= 3.13, < 5.4.297>= 5.5, < 5.10.241>= 5.11, < 5.15.190>= 5.16, < 6.1.149>= 6.2, < 6.6.103>= 6.7, < 6.12.43>= 6.13, < 6.15.11>= 6.16, < 6.16.2
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 11.0CVSS 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 · scoped5.4.2975.10.2415.15.190
Upgrade to Linux kernel >= 5.4.297, >= 5.10.241, >= 5.15.190, or >= 6.1.149 (depending on your branch). For Debian 11, upgrade to kernel >= 5.10.241
- Check current kernel version using 'uname -r'
- Identify which kernel branch your version belongs to (3.13-5.4.x, 5.5-5.10.x, 5.11-5.15.x, or 5.16-6.1.x)
- For Debian 11 systems, upgrade the kernel package to a version >= 5.10.241 via 'apt update && apt upgrade linux-image-5.10-*'
- Reboot the system into the updated kernel
- Verify the fix is applied by checking 'uname -r' shows a patched version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-38712 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-38712 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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