CVE-2025-38528

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Reject %p% format string in bprintf-like helpers static const char fmt[] = "%p%"; bpf_trace_printk(fmt, sizeof(fmt)); The above BPF program isn't rejected and causes a kernel warning at runtime: Please remove unsupported %\x00 in format string WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 7244 at lib/vsprintf.c:2680 format_decode+0x49c/0x5d0 This happens because bpf_bprintf_prepare skips over the second %, detected as punctuation, while processing %p. This patch fixes it by not skipping over punctuation. %\x00 is then processed in the next iteration and rejected.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-08-16
Last modified 2026-01-07
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 5.13 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.15.190, 6.1.147, 6.6.100, 6.12.40, 6.15.8, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.13
Fixed in
✓ 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-2025-38528 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

6 patch commits total View all on NVD

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2025-38528?

    CVE-2025-38528 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.13 onward and has been patched in 5.15.190, 6.1.147, 6.6.100 and others. CVE-2025-38528 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38528?

    CVE-2025-38528 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-2025-38528?

    Yes — CVE-2025-38528 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.190, 6.1.147, 6.6.100 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-38528 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-38528 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

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