What is CVE-2025-38551?

CVE-2025-38551 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667), affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.11.2 onward and patched in 6.12.40, 6.15.8 and 6.16. CVE-2025-38551 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38551?

CVE-2025-38551 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-2025-38551?

Yes, CVE-2025-38551 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.40, 6.15.8 and 6.16. If you are running Linux kernel 6.11.2 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2025-38551 actively exploited?

CVE-2025-38551 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Improper Locking (CWE-667)?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/667.html

CVE-2025-38551

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio-net: fix recursived rtnl_lock() during probe() The deadlock appears in a stack trace like: virtnet_probe() rtnl_lock() virtio_config_changed_work() netdev_notify_peers() rtnl_lock() It happens if the VMM sends a VIRTIO_NET_S_ANNOUNCE request while the virtio-net driver is still probing. The config_work in probe() will get scheduled until virtnet_open() enables the config change notification via virtio_config_driver_enable().

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-08-16

Last modified 2025-11-18

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-667

CVE-2025-38551 is a Improper Locking vulnerability

What is Improper Locking?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.11.2, 6.12 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.40, 6.15.8, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.11.2 ≥ 6.12

Fixed in

✓ 6.12.40 6.12.x ✓ 6.15.8 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38551 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/3859f137b3c1fa1f0031d54263234566bdcdd7aa
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e7c46362550b229354aeb52038f414e231b0037
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be5dcaed694e4255dc02dd0acfe036708c535def
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2025-38551

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-08-16

Modified 2025-11-18

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38551?

CVE-2025-38551 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as an Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.11.2 onward and has been patched in 6.12.40, 6.15.8 and 6.16. CVE-2025-38551 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38551?

CVE-2025-38551 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-2025-38551?

Yes — CVE-2025-38551 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.40, 6.15.8 and 6.16. If you are running Linux kernel 6.11.2 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2025-38551 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2025-38551 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Improper Locking (CWE-667)?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. View CWE-667 on MITRE CWE →