CVE-2025-38186
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bnxt_en: Fix double invocation of bnxt_ulp_stop()/bnxt_ulp_start() Before the commit under the Fixes tag below, bnxt_ulp_stop() and bnxt_ulp_start() were always invoked in pairs. After that commit, the new bnxt_ulp_restart() can be invoked after bnxt_ulp_stop() has been called. This may result in the RoCE driver's aux driver .suspend() method being invoked twice. The 2nd bnxt_re_suspend() call will crash when it dereferences a NULL pointer: (NULL ib_device): Handle device suspend call BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000b78 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI CPU: 20 UID: 0 PID: 181 Comm: kworker/u96:5 Tainted: G S 6.15.0-rc1 #4 PREEMPT(voluntary) Tainted: [S]=CPU_OUT_OF_SPEC Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R730/072T6D, BIOS 2.4.3 01/17/2017 Workqueue: bnxt_pf_wq bnxt_sp_task [bnxt_en] RIP: 0010:bnxt_re_suspend+0x45/0x1f0 [bnxt_re] Code: 8b 05 a7 3c 5b f5 48 89 44 24 18 31 c0 49 8b 5c 24 08 4d 8b 2c 24 e8 ea 06 0a f4 48 c7 c6 04 60 52 c0 48 89 df e8 1b ce f9 ff <48> 8b 83 78 0b 00 00 48 8b 80 38 03 00 00 a8 40 0f 85 b5 00 00 00 RSP: 0018:ffffa2e84084fd88 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000001 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffffffffb4b6b934 RDI: 00000000ffffffff RBP: ffffa1760954c9c0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: c0000000ffffdfff R10: 0000000000000001 R11: ffffa2e84084fb50 R12: ffffa176031ef070 R13: ffffa17609775000 R14: ffffa17603adc180 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffffa17daa397000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000b78 CR3: 00000004aaa30003 CR4: 00000000003706f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> bnxt_ulp_stop+0x69/0x90 [bnxt_en] bnxt_sp_task+0x678/0x920 [bnxt_en] ? __schedule+0x514/0xf50 process_scheduled_works+0x9d/0x400 worker_thread+0x11c/0x260 ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 kthread+0xfe/0x1e0 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x2b/0x40 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 Check the BNXT_EN_FLAG_ULP_STOPPED flag and do not proceed if the flag is already set. This will preserve the original symmetrical bnxt_ulp_stop() and bnxt_ulp_start(). Also, inside bnxt_ulp_start(), clear the BNXT_EN_FLAG_ULP_STOPPED flag after taking the mutex to avoid any race condition. And for symmetry, only proceed in bnxt_ulp_start() if the BNXT_EN_FLAG_ULP_STOPPED is set.
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness type
CWE-415CVE-2025-38186 is classified as CWE-415
See CWE-415 on MITRE CWE for full details on this weakness type.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.10
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.12.35,
6.15.4,
6.16
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38186 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e9ac33fa271be0d2480fd732f9642d81542500b
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f2cd309492924b8afd2c62aebff815c1119d124
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cca4ffd4a5b768752b91f6f75d77928e47886913
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2025-38186?
CVE-2025-38186 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.10 onward and has been patched in 6.12.35, 6.15.4 and 6.16. CVE-2025-38186 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38186?
CVE-2025-38186 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-2025-38186?
Yes — CVE-2025-38186 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.35, 6.15.4 and 6.16. If you are running Linux kernel 6.10 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2025-38186 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2025-38186 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.