What is CVE-2025-38421?

CVE-2025-38421 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.12.23 onward and patched in 6.15.4 and 6.16. CVE-2025-38421 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38421?

CVE-2025-38421 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-38421?

Yes, CVE-2025-38421 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.15.4 and 6.16. If you are running Linux kernel 6.12.23 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2025-38421 actively exploited?

CVE-2025-38421 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2025-38421

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: platform/x86/amd: pmf: Use device managed allocations If setting up smart PC fails for any reason then this can lead to a double free when unloading amd-pmf. This is because dev->buf was freed but never set to NULL and is again freed in amd_pmf_remove(). To avoid subtle allocation bugs in failures leading to a double free change all allocations into device managed allocations.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-07-25

Last modified 2025-11-19

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Weakness type

CWE-415

CVE-2025-38421 is classified as CWE-415

See CWE-415 on MITRE CWE for full details on this weakness type.

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.12.23, 6.13.11, 6.14 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.15.4, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.12.23 ≥ 6.13.11 ≥ 6.14

Fixed in

✓ 6.15.4 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38421 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0d10b532f861253c283863522d59d099fcb0796d
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d9db3a941270d92bbd1a6a6b54a10324484f2f2d
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2025-38421

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-07-25

Modified 2025-11-19

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38421?

CVE-2025-38421 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.12.23 onward and has been patched in 6.15.4 and 6.16. CVE-2025-38421 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38421?

CVE-2025-38421 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-38421?

Yes — CVE-2025-38421 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.15.4 and 6.16. If you are running Linux kernel 6.12.23 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2025-38421 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2025-38421 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.