dbcve.org
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38714

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.297 / 5.10.241 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
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: hfsplus: fix slab-out-of-bounds in hfsplus_bnode_read() The hfsplus_bnode_read() method can trigger the issue: [ 174.852007][ T9784] ================================================================== [ 174.852709][ T9784] BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in hfsplus_bnode_read+0x2f4/0x360 [ 174.853412][ T9784] Read of size 8 at addr ffff88810b5fc6c0 by task repro/9784 [ 174.854059][ T9784] [ 174.854272][ T9784] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 9784 Comm: repro Not tainted 6.16.0-rc3 #7 PREEMPT(full) [ 174.854281][ T9784] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 174.854286][ T9784] Call Trace: [ 174.854289][ T9784] <TASK> [ 174.854292][ T9784] dump_stack_lvl+0x10e/0x1f0 [ 174.854305][ T9784] print_report+0xd0/0x660 [ 174.854315][ T9784] ? __virt_addr_valid+0x81/0x610 [ 174.854323][ T9784] ? __phys_addr+0xe8/0x180 [ 174.854330][ T9784] ? hfsplus_bnode_read+0x2f4/0x360 [ 174.854337][ T9784] kasan_report+0xc6/0x100 [ 174.854346][ T9784] ? hfsplus_bnode_read+0x2f4/0x360 [ 174.854354][ T9784] hfsplus_bnode_read+0x2f4/0x360 [ 174.854362][ T9784] hfsplus_bnode_dump+0x2ec/0x380 [ 174.854370][ T9784] ? __pfx_hfsplus_bnode_dump+0x10/0x10 [ 174.854377][ T9784] ? hfsplus_bnode_write_u16+0x83/0xb0 [ 174.854385][ T9784] ? srcu_gp_start+0xd0/0x310 [ 174.854393][ T9784] ? __mark_inode_dirty+0x29e/0xe40 [ 174.854402][ T9784] hfsplus_brec_remove+0x3d2/0x4e0 [ 174.854411][ T9784] __hfsplus_delete_attr+0x290/0x3a0 [ 174.854419][ T9784] ? __pfx_hfs_find_1st_rec_by_cnid+0x10/0x10 [ 174.854427][ T9784] ? __pfx___hfsplus_delete_attr+0x10/0x10 [ 174.854436][ T9784] ? __asan_memset+0x23/0x50 [ 174.854450][ T9784] hfsplus_delete_all_attrs+0x262/0x320 [ 174.854459][ T9784] ? __pfx_hfsplus_delete_all_attrs+0x10/0x10 [ 174.854469][ T9784] ? rcu_is_watching+0x12/0xc0 [ 174.854476][ T9784] ? __mark_inode_dirty+0x29e/0xe40 [ 174.854483][ T9784] hfsplus_delete_cat+0x845/0xde0 [ 174.854493][ T9784] ? __pfx_hfsplus_delete_cat+0x10/0x10 [ 174.854507][ T9784] hfsplus_unlink+0x1ca/0x7c0 [ 174.854516][ T9784] ? __pfx_hfsplus_unlink+0x10/0x10 [ 174.854525][ T9784] ? down_write+0x148/0x200 [ 174.854532][ T9784] ? __pfx_down_write+0x10/0x10 [ 174.854540][ T9784] vfs_unlink+0x2fe/0x9b0 [ 174.854549][ T9784] do_unlinkat+0x490/0x670 [ 174.854557][ T9784] ? __pfx_do_unlinkat+0x10/0x10 [ 174.854565][ T9784] ? __might_fault+0xbc/0x130 [ 174.854576][ T9784] ? getname_flags.part.0+0x1c5/0x550 [ 174.854584][ T9784] __x64_sys_unlink+0xc5/0x110 [ 174.854592][ T9784] do_syscall_64+0xc9/0x480 [ 174.854600][ T9784] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f [ 174.854608][ T9784] RIP: 0033:0x7f6fdf4c3167 [ 174.854614][ T9784] Code: f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 8b 0d 26 0d 0e 00 f7 d8 64 89 01 48 83 c8 ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 08 [ 174.854622][ T9784] RSP: 002b:00007ffcb948bca8 EFLAGS: 00000206 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000057 [ 174.854630][ T9784] RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 00007f6fdf4c3167 [ 174.854636][ T9784] RDX: 00007ffcb948bcc0 RSI: 00007ffcb948bcc0 RDI: 00007ffcb948bd50 [ 174.854641][ T9784] RBP: 00007ffcb948cd90 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 00007ffcb948bb40 [ 174.854645][ T9784] R10: 00007f6fdf564fc0 R11: 0000000000000206 R12: 0000561e1bc9c2d0 [ 174.854650][ T9784] R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 [ 174.854658][ T9784] </TASK> [ 174.854661][ T9784] [ 174.879281][ T9784] Allocated by task 9784: [ 174.879664][ T9784] kasan_save_stack+0x20/0x40 [ 174.880082][ T9784] kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 [ 174.880500][ T9784] __kasan_kmalloc+0xaa/0xb0 [ 174.880908][ T9784] __kmalloc_noprof+0x205/0x550 [ 174.881337][ T9784] __hfs_bnode_create+0x107/0x890 [ 174.881779][ T9784] hfsplus_bnode_find+0x2d0/0xd10 [ 174.882222][ T9784] hfsplus_brec_find+0x2b0/0x520 [ 174.882659][ T9784] hfsplus_delete_all_attrs+0x23b/0x3 ---truncated---

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-125

The code reads past the end (or before the start) of a buffer, returning memory that was never meant to be exposed. Attackers use it to leak secrets like keys or to defeat memory-protection defences. Remediation is validating indices and lengths before every read.

General guidance for the out-of-bounds read 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:>= 2.6.13, < 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= 2.6.12
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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 5.4.297 / 5.10.241 / 5.15.190 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2975.10.2415.15.190
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Linux kernel 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190, or 6.1.149 (or later stable releases) depending on which branch is currently in use

  1. 1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. Check if the kernel version falls within one of the affected ranges: >= 2.6.13 and < 5.4.297, >= 5.5 and < 5.10.241, >= 5.11 and < 5.15.190, or >= 5.16 and < 6.1.149
  3. 3. If affected, update the system package cache using the appropriate package manager (e.g., `apt update` for Debian/Ubuntu, `yum check-update` for RHEL/CentOS)
  4. 4. Install the latest kernel version from the distribution's repositories that includes the fix
  5. 5. For Debian 11 (Bullseye), ensure kernel is updated to a version >= 6.1.149 or the distribution's latest security-tracked kernel
  6. 6. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  7. 7. Verify the running kernel version post-reboot with `uname -r` to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could introduce compatibility issues with custom kernel modules or older hardware drivers; 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 $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-38714 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-38714 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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