Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2025-38718
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: sctp: linearize cloned gso packets in sctp_rcv A cloned head skb still shares these frag skbs in fraglist with the original head skb. It's not safe to access these frag skbs. syzbot reported two use-of-uninitialized-memory bugs caused by this: BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in sctp_inq_pop+0x15b7/0x1920 net/sctp/inqueue.c:211 sctp_inq_pop+0x15b7/0x1920 net/sctp/inqueue.c:211 sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x1a7/0xc50 net/sctp/associola.c:998 sctp_inq_push+0x2ef/0x380 net/sctp/inqueue.c:88 sctp_backlog_rcv+0x397/0xdb0 net/sctp/input.c:331 sk_backlog_rcv+0x13b/0x420 include/net/sock.h:1122 __release_sock+0x1da/0x330 net/core/sock.c:3106 release_sock+0x6b/0x250 net/core/sock.c:3660 sctp_wait_for_connect+0x487/0x820 net/sctp/socket.c:9360 sctp_sendmsg_to_asoc+0x1ec1/0x1f00 net/sctp/socket.c:1885 sctp_sendmsg+0x32b9/0x4a80 net/sctp/socket.c:2031 inet_sendmsg+0x25a/0x280 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:851 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:718 [inline] and BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x34e/0xbc0 net/sctp/associola.c:987 sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x34e/0xbc0 net/sctp/associola.c:987 sctp_inq_push+0x2a3/0x350 net/sctp/inqueue.c:88 sctp_backlog_rcv+0x3c7/0xda0 net/sctp/input.c:331 sk_backlog_rcv+0x142/0x420 include/net/sock.h:1148 __release_sock+0x1d3/0x330 net/core/sock.c:3213 release_sock+0x6b/0x270 net/core/sock.c:3767 sctp_wait_for_connect+0x458/0x820 net/sctp/socket.c:9367 sctp_sendmsg_to_asoc+0x223a/0x2260 net/sctp/socket.c:1886 sctp_sendmsg+0x3910/0x49f0 net/sctp/socket.c:2032 inet_sendmsg+0x269/0x2a0 net/ipv4/af_inet.c:851 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:712 [inline] This patch fixes it by linearizing cloned gso packets in sctp_rcv().
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 analysisMemory or a resource is used before it has been initialised, so its contents are whatever happened to be there — sometimes leaking earlier data, sometimes values an attacker can influence. Behaviour becomes unpredictable and occasionally exploitable. Remediation is initialising every resource before use and ensuring initialisation happens on all code paths.
General guidance for the use of uninitialized resource 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
>= 4.8, < 5.4.297>= 5.5, < 5.10.241>= 5.11, < 5.15.190>= 5.16, < 6.6.103>= 6.7, < 6.12.43>= 6.13, < 6.15.11>= 6.16, < 6.16.2= 6.17
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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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
Linux Kernel >= 5.4.297, >= 5.10.241, >= 5.15.190, or >= 6.6.103 (whichever branch is applicable)
- 1. Identify the current kernel version: `uname -r`
- 2. For Debian 11 systems, update package lists: `apt update`
- 3. Upgrade the kernel to a fixed version: `apt install linux-image-<version>` where the version is >= 5.4.297, >= 5.10.241, >= 5.15.190, or >= 6.6.103 depending on your kernel branch
- 4. For upstream Linux, obtain a kernel source and apply commit 03d0cc6889e02420125510b5444b570f4bbf53d5, then rebuild the kernel
- 5. Reboot the system into the updated kernel
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-2025-38718 — 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-2025-38718 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
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