CVE-2025-38591
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Reject narrower access to pointer ctx fields The following BPF program, simplified from a syzkaller repro, causes a kernel warning: r0 = *(u8 *)(r1 + 169); exit; With pointer field sk being at offset 168 in __sk_buff. This access is detected as a narrower read in bpf_skb_is_valid_access because it doesn't match offsetof(struct __sk_buff, sk). It is therefore allowed and later proceeds to bpf_convert_ctx_access. Note that for the "is_narrower_load" case in the convert_ctx_accesses(), the insn->off is aligned, so the cnt may not be 0 because it matches the offsetof(struct __sk_buff, sk) in the bpf_convert_ctx_access. However, the target_size stays 0 and the verifier errors with a kernel warning: verifier bug: error during ctx access conversion(1) This patch fixes that to return a proper "invalid bpf_context access off=X size=Y" error on the load instruction. The same issue affects multiple other fields in context structures that allow narrow access. Some other non-affected fields (for sk_msg, sk_lookup, and sockopt) were also changed to use bpf_ctx_range_ptr for consistency. Note this syzkaller crash was reported in the "Closes" link below, which used to be about a different bug, fixed in commit fce7bd8e385a ("bpf/verifier: Handle BPF_LOAD_ACQ instructions in insn_def_regno()"). Because syzbot somehow confused the two bugs, the new crash and repro didn't get reported to the mailing list.
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.13
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.249,
5.15.199,
6.1.162,
6.12.67,
6.16.1,
6.17
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38591 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/058a0da4f6d916a79b693384111bb80a90d73763
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/202900ceeef67458c964c2af6e1427c8e533ea7c
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33660d44e789edb4f303210c813fc56d56377a90
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2025-38591?
CVE-2025-38591 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.13 onward and has been patched in 5.10.249, 5.15.199, 6.1.162 and others. CVE-2025-38591 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38591?
CVE-2025-38591 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-2025-38591?
Yes — CVE-2025-38591 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.249, 5.15.199, 6.1.162 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2025-38591 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2025-38591 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.