CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-38298NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Out-of-bounds Write

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-38298 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 80bf28fd623d97dd4f4825fbbe9d736cec2afba3, a6ed3a6edff09c1187cc6ade7f5967bca2376a13, bf6a8502a5f4ff6e4d135d795945cdade49ec8b0 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 0.24% 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 80bf28fd623d97dd4f4825fbbe9d736cec2afba3 or a6ed3a6edff09c1187cc6ade7f5967bca2376a13 or bf6a8502a5f4ff6e4d135d795945cdade49ec8b0 or e8530ed3c0769a4d8f79c212715ec1cf277787f8, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.4.295 or 5.10.239 or 5.15.186 or 6.1.142, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxc68d1dbfe381260e8e30880fa6b8e708e57143f6 up to, but not including, 80bf28fd623d97dd4f4825fbbe9d736cec2afba3; 3070e81609169b316e3e3f226456950238338d43 up to, but not including, a6ed3a6edff09c1187cc6ade7f5967bca2376a13; 2259b26ff45a231579485752bda51acf87c39d18 up to, but not including, bf6a8502a5f4ff6e4d135d795945cdade49ec8b0; 6d0d9f0fd13536ed21b9c0dd576ba292f750a1c1 up to, but not including, e8530ed3c0769a4d8f79c212715ec1cf277787f8; c25ae63de6805589e954b86020f89065b9eca4d4 up to, but not including, 3f5d0659000923735350da60ad710f8c804544fe; 123b158635505c89ed0d3ef45c5845ff9030a466 up to, but not including, a13e8343ffcff27af1ff79597ff7ba241e6d9471; 123b158635505c89ed0d3ef45c5845ff9030a466 up to, but not including, 31ef6f7c9aee3be78d63789653e92350f2537f93; 123b158635505c89ed0d3ef45c5845ff9030a466 up to, but not including, 20d2d476b3ae18041be423671a8637ed5ffd6958; and 8 more ranges80bf28fd623d97dd4f4825fbbe9d736cec2afba3, a6ed3a6edff09c1187cc6ade7f5967bca2376a13, bf6a8502a5f4ff6e4d135d795945cdade49ec8b0, e8530ed3c0769a4d8f79c212715ec1cf277787f8, 3f5d0659000923735350da60ad710f8c804544fe, a13e8343ffcff27af1ff79597ff7ba241e6d9471
LinuxLinux Kernel5.4.282 up to, but not including, 5.4.295; 5.10.224 up to, but not including, 5.10.239; 5.15.165 up to, but not including, 5.15.186; 6.1.103 up to, but not including, 6.1.142; 6.6.44 up to, but not including, 6.6.94; 6.10.3 up to, but not including, 6.12.34; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.15.35.4.295, 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.94, 6.12.34
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.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: EDAC/skx_common: Fix general protection fault After loading i10nm_edac (which automatically loads skx_edac_common), if unload only i10nm_edac, then reload it and perform error injection testing, a general protection fault may occur: mce: [Hardware Error]: Machine check events logged Oops: general protection fault ... ... Workqueue: events mce_gen_pool_process RIP: 0010:string+0x53/0xe0 ... Call Trace: <TASK> ? die_addr+0x37/0x90 ? exc_general_protection+0x1e7/0x3f0 ? asm_exc_general_protection+0x26/0x30 ? string+0x53/0xe0 vsnprintf+0x23e/0x4c0 snprintf+0x4d/0x70 skx_adxl_decode+0x16a/0x330 [skx_edac_common] skx_mce_check_error.part.0+0xf8/0x220 [skx_edac_common] skx_mce_check_error+0x17/0x20 [skx_edac_common] ... The issue arose was because the variable 'adxl_component_count' (inside skx_edac_common), which counts the ADXL components, was not reset. During the reloading of i10nm_edac, the count was incremented by the actual number of ADXL components again, resulting in a count that was double the real number of ADXL components. This led to an out-of-bounds reference to the ADXL component array, causing the general protection fault above. Fix this issue by resetting the 'adxl_component_count' in adxl_put(), which is called during the unloading of {skx,i10nm}_edac.

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

Recent Out-of-bounds Write vulnerabilities

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