CVE-2025-38478

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: comedi: Fix initialization of data for instructions that write to subdevice Some Comedi subdevice instruction handlers are known to access instruction data elements beyond the first `insn->n` elements in some cases. The `do_insn_ioctl()` and `do_insnlist_ioctl()` functions allocate at least `MIN_SAMPLES` (16) data elements to deal with this, but they do not initialize all of that. For Comedi instruction codes that write to the subdevice, the first `insn->n` data elements are copied from user-space, but the remaining elements are left uninitialized. That could be a problem if the subdevice instruction handler reads the uninitialized data. Ensure that the first `MIN_SAMPLES` elements are initialized before calling these instruction handlers, filling the uncopied elements with 0. For `do_insnlist_ioctl()`, the same data buffer elements are used for handling a list of instructions, so ensure the first `MIN_SAMPLES` elements are initialized for each instruction that writes to the subdevice.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-07-28
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

Weakness type

CWE-908

CVE-2025-38478 is classified as CWE-908

See CWE-908 on MITRE CWE for full details on this weakness type.

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.29 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190, 6.1.147, 6.6.100, 6.12.40, 6.15.8, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.29
Fixed in
✓ 5.4.297 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.241 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.190 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.147 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.100 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.40 6.12.x ✓ 6.15.8 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38478 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

8 patch commits total View all on NVD

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2025-38478?

    CVE-2025-38478 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.29 onward and has been patched in 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190 and others. CVE-2025-38478 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38478?

    CVE-2025-38478 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-2025-38478?

    Yes — CVE-2025-38478 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.297, 5.10.241, 5.15.190 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.29 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-38478 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-38478 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

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