Skip to content
Fencer Vulns
high 7.8

CVE-2025-38500 json

xfrm: interface: fix use-after-free after changing collect_md xfrm interface

published 2025-08-12 14 mo ago modified 2026-08-05 3 mo ago also EUVD-2025-24267

cvss
7.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.2%
EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 6%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

xfrm: interface: fix use-after-free after changing collect_md xfrm interface

collect_md property on xfrm interfaces can only be set on device creation, thus xfrmi_changelink() should fail when called on such interfaces.

The check to enforce this was done only in the case where the xi was returned from xfrmi_locate() which doesn't look for the collect_md interface, and thus the validation was never reached.

Calling changelink would thus errornously place the special interface xi in the xfrmi_net->xfrmi hash, but since it also exists in the xfrmi_net->collect_md_xfrmi pointer it would lead to a double free when the net namespace was taken down [1].

Change the check to use the xi from netdev_priv which is available earlier in the function to prevent changes in xfrm collect_md interfaces.

[1] resulting oops: [ 8.516540] kernel BUG at net/core/dev.c:12029! [ 8.516552] Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI [ 8.516559] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 12 Comm: kworker/u80:0 Not tainted 6.15.0-virtme #5 PREEMPT(voluntary) [ 8.516565] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 8.516569] Workqueue: netns cleanup_net [ 8.516579] RIP: 0010:unregister_netdevice_many_notify+0x101/0xab0 [ 8.516590] Code: 90 0f 0b 90 48 8b b0 78 01 00 00 48 8b 90 80 01 00 00 48 89 56 08 48 89 32 4c 89 80 78 01 00 00 48 89 b8 80 01 00 00 eb ac 90 <0f> 0b 48 8b 45 00 4c 8d a0 88 fe ff ff 48 39 c5 74 5c 41 80 bc 24 [ 8.516593] RSP: 0018:ffffa93b8006bd30 EFLAGS: 00010206 [ 8.516598] RAX: ffff98fe4226e000 RBX: ffffa93b8006bd58 RCX: ffffa93b8006bc60 [ 8.516601] RDX: 0000000000000004 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: dead000000000122 [ 8.516603] RBP: ffffa93b8006bdd8 R08: dead000000000100 R09: ffff98fe4133c100 [ 8.516605] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 00000000000003d2 R12: ffffa93b8006be00 [ 8.516608] R13: ffffffff96c1a510 R14: ffffffff96c1a510 R15: ffffa93b8006be00 [ 8.516615] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff98fee73b7000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 8.516619] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 8.516622] CR2: 00007fcd2abd0700 CR3: 000000003aa40000 CR4: 0000000000752ef0 [ 8.516625] PKRU: 55555554 [ 8.516627] Call Trace: [ 8.516632] <TASK> [ 8.516635] ? rtnl_is_locked+0x15/0x20 [ 8.516641] ? unregister_netdevice_queue+0x29/0xf0 [ 8.516650] ops_undo_list+0x1f2/0x220 [ 8.516659] cleanup_net+0x1ad/0x2e0 [ 8.516664] process_one_work+0x160/0x380 [ 8.516673] worker_thread+0x2aa/0x3c0 [ 8.516679] ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 [ 8.516686] kthread+0xfb/0x200 [ 8.516690] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [ 8.516693] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [ 8.516697] ret_from_fork+0x82/0xf0 [ 8.516705] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [ 8.516709] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [ 8.516718] </TASK>

Patch / fix

  • Linux Linux 6.1.148, 6.6.101, 6.12.41, 6.15.9, 6.16
  • linux Debian 12 6.1.148-1
  • linux Debian 13 6.12.41-1
  • linux Debian 14 6.16.3-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38500

  • linux Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-85.85
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1040.42
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1041.43
  • linux-gke Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1037.41
  • linux-ibm Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1038.38
  • linux-azure Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1040.46
  • linux-gkeop Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1024.26
  • linux-raspi Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1040.44

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38500

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • kernel RHEL 10.0 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
  • rv RHEL 10.0 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
  • perf RHEL 10.0 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
  • rtla RHEL 10.0 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
  • libperf RHEL 10.0 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
  • kernel-rt RHEL 10.0 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
  • kernel-64k RHEL 10.0 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
  • kernel-core RHEL 10.0 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0

red hat advisories RHSA-2025:17241RHSA-2025:15782RHSA-2025:15011

  • kernel-livepatch-SLE16_Update_0 SLES 16.0, Linux Micro 6.2, SLES for SAP applications 16.0 5-160000.4.3
  • kernel-livepatch-SLE16-RT_Update_0 Linux Micro 6.2 4-160000.3.4
  • kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0-RT_Update_11 Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 4-1.1
  • kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0-RT_Update_10 Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 8-1.1
  • kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0_Update_10 Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 4-1.1
  • kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0-RT_Update_4 Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 13-1.1
  • kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0-RT_Update_5 Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 12-1.1
  • kernel-livepatch-MICRO-6-0-RT_Update_6 Linux Micro 6.1, Linux Micro 6.0 10-3.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2026:20149-1SUSE-SU-2026:20169-1SUSE-SU-2026:20164-1SUSE-SU-2025:4306-1SUSE-SU-2025:4302-1SUSE-SU-2025:21103-1

  • kernel-rt openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.6.1
  • dtb-aarch64 openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.6.1
  • kernel-64kb openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.6.1
  • kernel-syms openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.6.1
  • kernel-obs-qa openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.6.1
  • kernel-source openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.6.1
  • kernel-default openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.6.1
  • kernel-kvmsmall openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.6.1

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2025:20081-1

  • kernel-abi-stablelists AlmaLinux 10 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
  • kernel AlmaLinux 9 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6
  • rv AlmaLinux 9 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6
  • perf AlmaLinux 9 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6
  • rtla AlmaLinux 9 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6
  • libperf AlmaLinux 9 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6
  • kernel-rt AlmaLinux 9 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6
  • kernel-64k AlmaLinux 9 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6

almalinux advisories ALSA-2025:15782ALSA-2025:15011

  • kernel Rocky Linux 9 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6

rocky linux advisories RLSA-2025:15011

  • kernel Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.104.2-1

azure linux advisories AZL-66246

Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2025-38500 updated cvss 7.8

kernel: xfrm: interface: fix use-after-free after changing collect_md xfrm interface

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 kernel-rt, kernel-rt-kvm, kernel-rt-core, kernel-rt-modules, kernel-rt-debug-kvm, kernel-rt-debug-core, +12 more
    affected: no fix available
  • Red Hat CodeReady Linux Builder EUS (v.9.4) libperf 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:17241
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 9) rv 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, perf 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, rtla 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, python3-perf 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-devel-matched 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-devel-matched 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, +7 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15011
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 10) rv 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, perf 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, rtla 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, python3-perf 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-devel-matched 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-64k-devel-matched 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, +7 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15782
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream EUS (v.9.4) rv 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, perf 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, rtla 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-devel-matched 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-64k-devel-matched 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-debug-devel-matched 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:17241
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 9) kernel 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-64k 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-core 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-tools 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-modules 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-64k-core 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, +27 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15011
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 10) kernel 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-64k 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-core 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-tools 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-modules 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-64k-core 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, +27 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15782
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS EUS (v.9.4) bpftool 7.3.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-64k 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-core 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-tools 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, python3-perf 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, +28 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:17241
show 9 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 9) libperf 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15011
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux CodeReady Linux Builder (v. 10) libperf 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-aarch64 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15782
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 9) kernel-rt 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-64k 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-64k-core 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, +14 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15011
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time (v. 10) kernel-rt 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-64k 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-core 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-modules 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-64k-core 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-debug-core 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, +14 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15782
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time EUS (v.9.4) kernel-rt 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-modules-core 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-modules 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:17241
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 9) kernel-rt 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-kvm 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-570.39.1.el9_6, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15011
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV (v. 10) kernel-rt 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-kvm 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-core 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-modules 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, kernel-rt-debug-core 6.12.0-55.33.1.el10_0, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:15782
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Real Time for NFV EUS (v.9.4) kernel-rt 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-kvm 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-core 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-modules 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, kernel-rt-debug-core 5.14.0-427.92.1.el9_4, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2025:17241
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, kernel-core, kernel-tools, +29 more
    not affected: vulnerable code not present

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
Assessed
13 mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.17% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 6% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

  • Linux Linux

Classification

Weakness
Technology feeds

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.