CVE-2025-38387

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/mlx5: Initialize obj_event->obj_sub_list before xa_insert The obj_event may be loaded immediately after inserted, then if the list_head is not initialized then we may get a poisonous pointer. This fixes the crash below: mlx5_core 0000:03:00.0: MLX5E: StrdRq(1) RqSz(8) StrdSz(2048) RxCqeCmprss(0 enhanced) mlx5_core.sf mlx5_core.sf.4: firmware version: 32.38.3056 mlx5_core 0000:03:00.0 en3f0pf0sf2002: renamed from eth0 mlx5_core.sf mlx5_core.sf.4: Rate limit: 127 rates are supported, range: 0Mbps to 195312Mbps IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): en3f0pf0sf2002: link becomes ready Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000060 Mem abort info: ESR = 0x96000006 EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits SET = 0, FnV = 0 EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 Data abort info: ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000006 CM = 0, WnR = 0 user pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=00000007760fb000 [0000000000000060] pgd=000000076f6d7003, p4d=000000076f6d7003, pud=0000000777841003, pmd=0000000000000000 Internal error: Oops: 96000006 [#1] SMP Modules linked in: ipmb_host(OE) act_mirred(E) cls_flower(E) sch_ingress(E) mptcp_diag(E) udp_diag(E) raw_diag(E) unix_diag(E) tcp_diag(E) inet_diag(E) binfmt_misc(E) bonding(OE) rdma_ucm(OE) rdma_cm(OE) iw_cm(OE) ib_ipoib(OE) ib_cm(OE) isofs(E) cdrom(E) mst_pciconf(OE) ib_umad(OE) mlx5_ib(OE) ipmb_dev_int(OE) mlx5_core(OE) kpatch_15237886(OEK) mlxdevm(OE) auxiliary(OE) ib_uverbs(OE) ib_core(OE) psample(E) mlxfw(OE) tls(E) sunrpc(E) vfat(E) fat(E) crct10dif_ce(E) ghash_ce(E) sha1_ce(E) sbsa_gwdt(E) virtio_console(E) ext4(E) mbcache(E) jbd2(E) xfs(E) libcrc32c(E) mmc_block(E) virtio_net(E) net_failover(E) failover(E) sha2_ce(E) sha256_arm64(E) nvme(OE) nvme_core(OE) gpio_mlxbf3(OE) mlx_compat(OE) mlxbf_pmc(OE) i2c_mlxbf(OE) sdhci_of_dwcmshc(OE) pinctrl_mlxbf3(OE) mlxbf_pka(OE) gpio_generic(E) i2c_core(E) mmc_core(E) mlxbf_gige(OE) vitesse(E) pwr_mlxbf(OE) mlxbf_tmfifo(OE) micrel(E) mlxbf_bootctl(OE) virtio_ring(E) virtio(E) ipmi_devintf(E) ipmi_msghandler(E) [last unloaded: mst_pci] CPU: 11 PID: 20913 Comm: rte-worker-11 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G OE K 5.10.134-13.1.an8.aarch64 #1 Hardware name: https://www.mellanox.com BlueField-3 SmartNIC Main Card/BlueField-3 SmartNIC Main Card, BIOS 4.2.2.12968 Oct 26 2023 pstate: a0400089 (NzCv daIf +PAN -UAO -TCO BTYPE=--) pc : dispatch_event_fd+0x68/0x300 [mlx5_ib] lr : devx_event_notifier+0xcc/0x228 [mlx5_ib] sp : ffff80001005bcf0 x29: ffff80001005bcf0 x28: 0000000000000001 x27: ffff244e0740a1d8 x26: ffff244e0740a1d0 x25: ffffda56beff5ae0 x24: ffffda56bf911618 x23: ffff244e0596a480 x22: ffff244e0596a480 x21: ffff244d8312ad90 x20: ffff244e0596a480 x19: fffffffffffffff0 x18: 0000000000000000 x17: 0000000000000000 x16: ffffda56be66d620 x15: 0000000000000000 x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000 x11: 0000000000000040 x10: ffffda56bfcafb50 x9 : ffffda5655c25f2c x8 : 0000000000000010 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : ffff24545a2e24b8 x5 : 0000000000000003 x4 : ffff80001005bd28 x3 : 0000000000000000 x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : ffff244e0596a480 x0 : ffff244d8312ad90 Call trace: dispatch_event_fd+0x68/0x300 [mlx5_ib] devx_event_notifier+0xcc/0x228 [mlx5_ib] atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x58/0x80 mlx5_eq_async_int+0x148/0x2b0 [mlx5_core] atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x58/0x80 irq_int_handler+0x20/0x30 [mlx5_core] __handle_irq_event_percpu+0x60/0x220 handle_irq_event_percpu+0x3c/0x90 handle_irq_event+0x58/0x158 handle_fasteoi_irq+0xfc/0x188 generic_handle_irq+0x34/0x48 ...

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-07-25
Last modified 2025-12-16
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-476

CVE-2025-38387 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability

What is NULL Pointer Dereference?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.3 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.4.296, 5.10.240, 5.15.187, 6.1.144, 6.6.97, 6.12.37, 6.15.6, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.3
Fixed in
✓ 5.4.296 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.240 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.187 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.144 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.97 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.37 6.12.x ✓ 6.15.6 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38387 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-2025-38387?

    CVE-2025-38387 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.3 onward and has been patched in 5.4.296, 5.10.240, 5.15.187 and others. CVE-2025-38387 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38387?

    CVE-2025-38387 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-2025-38387?

    Yes — CVE-2025-38387 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.296, 5.10.240, 5.15.187 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.3 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-38387 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-38387 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

    The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. View CWE-476 on MITRE CWE →