CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2025-38445NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Out-of-bounds Read

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2025-38445 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 d8a6853d00fbaa810765c8ed2f452a5832273968, 12b00ec99624f8da8c325f2dd6e807df26df0025, 48da050b4f54ed639b66278d0ae6f4107b2c4e2d 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 d8a6853d00fbaa810765c8ed2f452a5832273968 or 12b00ec99624f8da8c325f2dd6e807df26df0025 or 48da050b4f54ed639b66278d0ae6f4107b2c4e2d or 5f35e48b76655e45522df338876dfef88dafcc71, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.4.296 or 5.10.240 or 5.15.189 or 6.1.146, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxafeee514ce7f4cab605beedd03be71ebaf0c5fc8 up to, but not including, d8a6853d00fbaa810765c8ed2f452a5832273968; afeee514ce7f4cab605beedd03be71ebaf0c5fc8 up to, but not including, 12b00ec99624f8da8c325f2dd6e807df26df0025; afeee514ce7f4cab605beedd03be71ebaf0c5fc8 up to, but not including, 48da050b4f54ed639b66278d0ae6f4107b2c4e2d; afeee514ce7f4cab605beedd03be71ebaf0c5fc8 up to, but not including, 5f35e48b76655e45522df338876dfef88dafcc71; afeee514ce7f4cab605beedd03be71ebaf0c5fc8 up to, but not including, df5894014a92ff0196dbc212a7764e97366fd2b7; afeee514ce7f4cab605beedd03be71ebaf0c5fc8 up to, but not including, 776e6186dc9ecbdb8a1b706e989166c8a99bbf64; afeee514ce7f4cab605beedd03be71ebaf0c5fc8 up to, but not including, 61fd5e93006cf82ec8ee5c115ab5cf4bbd104bdb; afeee514ce7f4cab605beedd03be71ebaf0c5fc8 up to, but not including, d67ed2ccd2d1dcfda9292c0ea8697a9d0f2f0d98; and 1 more rangesd8a6853d00fbaa810765c8ed2f452a5832273968, 12b00ec99624f8da8c325f2dd6e807df26df0025, 48da050b4f54ed639b66278d0ae6f4107b2c4e2d, 5f35e48b76655e45522df338876dfef88dafcc71, df5894014a92ff0196dbc212a7764e97366fd2b7, 776e6186dc9ecbdb8a1b706e989166c8a99bbf64
LinuxLinux Kernel4.18 up to, but not including, 5.4.296; 5.5 up to, but not including, 5.10.240; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.189; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.146; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.99; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.39; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.15.7; 6.165.4.296, 5.10.240, 5.15.189, 6.1.146, 6.6.99, 6.12.39
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: md/raid1: Fix stack memory use after return in raid1_reshape In the raid1_reshape function, newpool is allocated on the stack and assigned to conf->r1bio_pool. This results in conf->r1bio_pool.wait.head pointing to a stack address. Accessing this address later can lead to a kernel panic. Example access path: raid1_reshape() { // newpool is on the stack mempool_t newpool, oldpool; // initialize newpool.wait.head to stack address mempool_init(&newpool, ...); conf->r1bio_pool = newpool; } raid1_read_request() or raid1_write_request() { alloc_r1bio() { mempool_alloc() { // if pool->alloc fails remove_element() { --pool->curr_nr; } } } } mempool_free() { if (pool->curr_nr < pool->min_nr) { // pool->wait.head is a stack address // wake_up() will try to access this invalid address // which leads to a kernel panic return; wake_up(&pool->wait); } } Fix: reinit conf->r1bio_pool.wait after assigning newpool.

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

Recent Out-of-bounds Read vulnerabilities

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