CVE-2025-38424

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf: Fix sample vs do_exit() Baisheng Gao reported an ARM64 crash, which Mark decoded as being a synchronous external abort -- most likely due to trying to access MMIO in bad ways. The crash further shows perf trying to do a user stack sample while in exit_mmap()'s tlb_finish_mmu() -- i.e. while tearing down the address space it is trying to access. It turns out that we stop perf after we tear down the userspace mm; a receipie for disaster, since perf likes to access userspace for various reasons. Flip this order by moving up where we stop perf in do_exit(). Additionally, harden PERF_SAMPLE_CALLCHAIN and PERF_SAMPLE_STACK_USER to abort when the current task does not have an mm (exit_mm() makes sure to set current->mm = NULL; before commencing with the actual teardown). Such that CPU wide events don't trip on this same problem.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-07-25
Last modified 2025-12-23
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 3.7 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
≥ 3.7
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-2025-38424 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-2025-38424?

    CVE-2025-38424 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.7 onward and has been patched in 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186 and others. CVE-2025-38424 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38424?

    CVE-2025-38424 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-2025-38424?

    Yes — CVE-2025-38424 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 3.7 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-38424 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-38424 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.