What is CVE-2025-38017?

CVE-2025-38017 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.14.4 onward and patched in 6.14.8. CVE-2025-38017 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38017?

CVE-2025-38017 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-38017?

Yes, CVE-2025-38017 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.14.8. If you are running Linux kernel 6.14.4 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2025-38017 actively exploited?

CVE-2025-38017 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2025-38017

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/eventpoll: fix endless busy loop after timeout has expired After commit 0a65bc27bd64 ("eventpoll: Set epoll timeout if it's in the future"), the following program would immediately enter a busy loop in the kernel: ``` int main() { int e = epoll_create1(0); struct epoll_event event = {.events = EPOLLIN}; epoll_ctl(e, EPOLL_CTL_ADD, 0, &event); const struct timespec timeout = {.tv_nsec = 1}; epoll_pwait2(e, &event, 1, &timeout, 0); } ``` This happens because the given (non-zero) timeout of 1 nanosecond usually expires before ep_poll() is entered and then ep_schedule_timeout() returns false, but `timed_out` is never set because the code line that sets it is skipped. This quickly turns into a soft lockup, RCU stalls and deadlocks, inflicting severe headaches to the whole system. When the timeout has expired, we don't need to schedule a hrtimer, but we should set the `timed_out` variable. Therefore, I suggest moving the ep_schedule_timeout() check into the `timed_out` expression instead of skipping it. brauner: Note that there was an earlier fix by Joe Damato in response to my bug report in [1].

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-06-18

Last modified 2025-11-14

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.14.4 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.14.8 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.14.4

Fixed in

✓ 6.14.8 6.14.x

References

2 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7631dca012593c95d36199082546a24a0058fc50

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d9ec73301099ec5975505e1c3effbe768bab9490

Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2025-38017

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-06-18

Modified 2025-11-14

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38017?

CVE-2025-38017 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.14.4 onward and has been patched in 6.14.8. CVE-2025-38017 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38017?

CVE-2025-38017 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-38017?

Yes. CVE-2025-38017 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.14.8. If you are running Linux kernel 6.14.4 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2025-38017 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2025-38017 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.