CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-38159NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Out-of-bounds Read

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-38159 is a high-severity out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.1 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 1ee8ea6937d13b20f90ff35d71ccc03ba448182d, 68a1037f0bac4de9a585aa9c879ef886109f3647, 74e18211c2c89ab66c9546baa7408288db61aa0d as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.19% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 1ee8ea6937d13b20f90ff35d71ccc03ba448182d or 68a1037f0bac4de9a585aa9c879ef886109f3647 or 74e18211c2c89ab66c9546baa7408288db61aa0d or c13255389499275bc5489a0b5b7940ccea3aef04, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.15.186 or 6.1.142 or 6.6.94 or 6.12.34, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux4136214f7c46839c15f0f177fe1d5052302c0205 up to, but not including, 1ee8ea6937d13b20f90ff35d71ccc03ba448182d; 4136214f7c46839c15f0f177fe1d5052302c0205 up to, but not including, 68a1037f0bac4de9a585aa9c879ef886109f3647; 4136214f7c46839c15f0f177fe1d5052302c0205 up to, but not including, 74e18211c2c89ab66c9546baa7408288db61aa0d; 4136214f7c46839c15f0f177fe1d5052302c0205 up to, but not including, c13255389499275bc5489a0b5b7940ccea3aef04; 4136214f7c46839c15f0f177fe1d5052302c0205 up to, but not including, 9febcc8bded8be0d7efd8237fcef599b6d93b788; 4136214f7c46839c15f0f177fe1d5052302c0205 up to, but not including, 4c2c372de2e108319236203cce6de44d70ae15cd; 5.41ee8ea6937d13b20f90ff35d71ccc03ba448182d, 68a1037f0bac4de9a585aa9c879ef886109f3647, 74e18211c2c89ab66c9546baa7408288db61aa0d, c13255389499275bc5489a0b5b7940ccea3aef04, 9febcc8bded8be0d7efd8237fcef599b6d93b788, 4c2c372de2e108319236203cce6de44d70ae15cd
LinuxLinux Kernel5.4 up to, but not including, 5.15.186; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.142; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.94; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.34; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.15.35.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3
DebianDebian Linux11.0Not stated

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
NoneNothing can be modified.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: rtw88: fix the 'para' buffer size to avoid reading out of bounds Set the size to 6 instead of 2, since 'para' array is passed to 'rtw_fw_bt_wifi_control(rtwdev, para[0], &para[1])', which reads 5 bytes: void rtw_fw_bt_wifi_control(struct rtw_dev *rtwdev, u8 op_code, u8 *data) { ... SET_BT_WIFI_CONTROL_DATA1(h2c_pkt, *data); SET_BT_WIFI_CONTROL_DATA2(h2c_pkt, *(data + 1)); ... SET_BT_WIFI_CONTROL_DATA5(h2c_pkt, *(data + 4)); Detected using the static analysis tool - Svace.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Out-of-bounds Read

The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.

More Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities (CWE-125)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Third-party and government advisories

Recent Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities

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