CVE-2025-38185

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: atm: atmtcp: Free invalid length skb in atmtcp_c_send(). syzbot reported the splat below. [0] vcc_sendmsg() copies data passed from userspace to skb and passes it to vcc->dev->ops->send(). atmtcp_c_send() accesses skb->data as struct atmtcp_hdr after checking if skb->len is 0, but it's not enough. Also, when skb->len == 0, skb and sk (vcc) were leaked because dev_kfree_skb() is not called and sk_wmem_alloc adjustment is missing to revert atm_account_tx() in vcc_sendmsg(), which is expected to be done in atm_pop_raw(). Let's properly free skb with an invalid length in atmtcp_c_send(). [0]: BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in atmtcp_c_send+0x255/0xed0 drivers/atm/atmtcp.c:294 atmtcp_c_send+0x255/0xed0 drivers/atm/atmtcp.c:294 vcc_sendmsg+0xd7c/0xff0 net/atm/common.c:644 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:712 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0x330/0x3d0 net/socket.c:727 ____sys_sendmsg+0x7e0/0xd80 net/socket.c:2566 ___sys_sendmsg+0x271/0x3b0 net/socket.c:2620 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2652 [inline] __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2657 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2655 [inline] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x211/0x3e0 net/socket.c:2655 x64_sys_call+0x32fb/0x3db0 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:47 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd9/0x210 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Uninit was created at: slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slub.c:4154 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:4197 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_node_noprof+0x818/0xf00 mm/slub.c:4249 kmalloc_reserve+0x13c/0x4b0 net/core/skbuff.c:579 __alloc_skb+0x347/0x7d0 net/core/skbuff.c:670 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1336 [inline] vcc_sendmsg+0xb40/0xff0 net/atm/common.c:628 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:712 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0x330/0x3d0 net/socket.c:727 ____sys_sendmsg+0x7e0/0xd80 net/socket.c:2566 ___sys_sendmsg+0x271/0x3b0 net/socket.c:2620 __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2652 [inline] __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2657 [inline] __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2655 [inline] __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x211/0x3e0 net/socket.c:2655 x64_sys_call+0x32fb/0x3db0 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:47 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd9/0x210 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 5798 Comm: syz-executor192 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc1-syzkaller-00010-g2c4a1f3fe03e #0 PREEMPT(undef) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 05/07/2025

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-07-04
Last modified 2025-12-18
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

Weakness type

CWE-401

CVE-2025-38185 is a Memory Leak vulnerability

What is Memory Leak?

The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.12 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.95, 6.12.35, 6.15.4, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.12
Fixed in
✓ 5.4.295 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.239 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.186 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.142 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.95 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.35 6.12.x ✓ 6.15.4 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38185 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2025-38185?

    CVE-2025-38185 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a Memory Leak flaw (CWE-401) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.12 onward and has been patched in 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186 and others. CVE-2025-38185 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38185?

    CVE-2025-38185 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-2025-38185?

    Yes — CVE-2025-38185 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.12 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-38185 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-38185 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Memory Leak (CWE-401)?

    The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. View CWE-401 on MITRE CWE →