CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-38226NVD status: Modified

Linux: Out-of-bounds Write

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-38226 is a high-severity out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 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 57597d8db5bbda618ba2145b7e8a7e6f01b6a27e, 635cea4f44c1ddae208666772c164eab5a6bce39, 89b5ab822bf69867c3951dd0eb34b0314c38966b 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 0.2% 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 57597d8db5bbda618ba2145b7e8a7e6f01b6a27e or 635cea4f44c1ddae208666772c164eab5a6bce39 or 89b5ab822bf69867c3951dd0eb34b0314c38966b or 5d89aa42534723400fefd46e26e053b9c382b4ee, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 4.10 or 4.15 or 4.20 or 5.4.296, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux54f259906039dbfe46c550011409fa16f72370f6 up to, but not including, 57597d8db5bbda618ba2145b7e8a7e6f01b6a27e; f9d19f3a044ca651b0be52a4bf951ffe74259b9f up to, but not including, 635cea4f44c1ddae208666772c164eab5a6bce39; ab54081a2843aefb837812fac5488cc8f1696142 up to, but not including, 89b5ab822bf69867c3951dd0eb34b0314c38966b; 2f558c5208b0f70c8140e08ce09fcc84da48e789 up to, but not including, 5d89aa42534723400fefd46e26e053b9c382b4ee; 94a7ad9283464b75b12516c5512541d467cefcf8 up to, but not including, f6b1b0f8ba0b61d8b511df5649d57235f230c135; 94a7ad9283464b75b12516c5512541d467cefcf8 up to, but not including, 00da1c767a6567e56f23dda586847586868ac064; 94a7ad9283464b75b12516c5512541d467cefcf8 up to, but not including, c56398885716d97ee9bcadb2bc9663a8c1757a34; 94a7ad9283464b75b12516c5512541d467cefcf8 up to, but not including, f83ac8d30c43fd902af7c84c480f216157b60ef0; and 13 more ranges57597d8db5bbda618ba2145b7e8a7e6f01b6a27e, 635cea4f44c1ddae208666772c164eab5a6bce39, 89b5ab822bf69867c3951dd0eb34b0314c38966b, 5d89aa42534723400fefd46e26e053b9c382b4ee, f6b1b0f8ba0b61d8b511df5649d57235f230c135, 00da1c767a6567e56f23dda586847586868ac064
LinuxLinux Kernel4.9.337 up to, but not including, 4.10; 4.14.303 up to, but not including, 4.15; 4.19.270 up to, but not including, 4.20; 5.4.229 up to, but not including, 5.4.296; 5.10.163 up to, but not including, 5.10.239; 5.15.86 up to, but not including, 5.15.186; 6.0.16 up to, but not including, 6.1; 6.1.2 up to, but not including, 6.1.142; and 3 more ranges4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.4.296, 5.10.239, 5.15.186
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
HighData or code can be modified at will.
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:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.8HighCNA
CVSS 3.17.8HighNVD

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: vivid: Change the siize of the composing syzkaller found a bug: BUG: KASAN: vmalloc-out-of-bounds in tpg_fill_plane_pattern drivers/media/common/v4l2-tpg/v4l2-tpg-core.c:2608 [inline] BUG: KASAN: vmalloc-out-of-bounds in tpg_fill_plane_buffer+0x1a9c/0x5af0 drivers/media/common/v4l2-tpg/v4l2-tpg-core.c:2705 Write of size 1440 at addr ffffc9000d0ffda0 by task vivid-000-vid-c/5304 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 5304 Comm: vivid-000-vid-c Not tainted 6.14.0-rc2-syzkaller-00039-g09fbf3d50205 #0 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2~bpo12+1 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x241/0x360 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0x169/0x550 mm/kasan/report.c:489 kasan_report+0x143/0x180 mm/kasan/report.c:602 kasan_check_range+0x282/0x290 mm/kasan/generic.c:189 __asan_memcpy+0x40/0x70 mm/kasan/shadow.c:106 tpg_fill_plane_pattern drivers/media/common/v4l2-tpg/v4l2-tpg-core.c:2608 [inline] tpg_fill_plane_buffer+0x1a9c/0x5af0 drivers/media/common/v4l2-tpg/v4l2-tpg-core.c:2705 vivid_fillbuff drivers/media/test-drivers/vivid/vivid-kthread-cap.c:470 [inline] vivid_thread_vid_cap_tick+0xf8e/0x60d0 drivers/media/test-drivers/vivid/vivid-kthread-cap.c:629 vivid_thread_vid_cap+0x8aa/0xf30 drivers/media/test-drivers/vivid/vivid-kthread-cap.c:767 kthread+0x7a9/0x920 kernel/kthread.c:464 ret_from_fork+0x4b/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:148 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:244 </TASK> The composition size cannot be larger than the size of fmt_cap_rect. So execute v4l2_rect_map_inside() even if has_compose_cap == 0.

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

The underlying weakness: Out-of-bounds Write

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

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, many languages that perform their own memory management, such as Java and Perl, are not subject to buffer overflows. Other languages, such as Ada and C#, typically provide overflow protection, but the protection can be disabled by the programmer. Be wary that a language's interface to native code may still be subject to overflows, even if the language itself is theoretically safe.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Messier and Viega, and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft. These libraries provide safer versions of overflow-prone string-handling functions.
  • Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking. D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND discusses canary-based detection in detail.

More Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities (CWE-787)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Third-party and government advisories

Recent Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities

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