What is CVE-2025-38431?

CVE-2025-38431 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.14 onward and patched in 6.15.5 and 6.16. CVE-2025-38431 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38431?

CVE-2025-38431 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. 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-2025-38431?

Yes, CVE-2025-38431 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.15.5 and 6.16. If you are running Linux kernel 6.14 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2025-38431 actively exploited?

CVE-2025-38431 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2025-38431

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix regression with native SMB symlinks Some users and customers reported that their backup/copy tools started to fail when the directory being copied contained symlink targets that the client couldn't parse - even when those symlinks weren't followed. Fix this by allowing lstat(2) and readlink(2) to succeed even when the client can't resolve the symlink target, restoring old behavior.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-07-25

Last modified 2025-11-19

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 6.14 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.15.5, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.14

Fixed in

✓ 6.15.5 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38431 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/6ddaf7567080c7de2e0c99efca2ee1e6b79beea5
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ff8abbd248c1f52df0c321690b88454b13ff54b2
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2025-38431

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 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-2025-38431?

CVE-2025-38431 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.14 onward and has been patched in 6.15.5 and 6.16. CVE-2025-38431 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38431?

CVE-2025-38431 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-2025-38431?

Yes — CVE-2025-38431 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.15.5 and 6.16. If you are running Linux kernel 6.14 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2025-38431 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2025-38431 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.