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CVE-2025-38192: linux kernel vulnerability
CVE-2025-38192: high vulnerability affecting linux kernel. Check CVSS, KEV status, business impact and recommended administrator actions.
- CVSS
- 7.8 HIGH
- EPSS
- 6.32%
- Known exploited
- not in KEV
- Product
- linux kernel
What is known
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: clear the dst when changing skb protocol A not-so-careful NAT46 BPF program can crash the kernel if it indiscriminately flips ingress packets from v4 to v6: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 ip6_rcv_core (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:190:20) ipv6_rcv (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:306:8) process_backlog (net/core/dev.c:6186:4) napi_poll (net/core/dev.c:6906:9) net_rx_action (net/core/dev.c:7028:13) do_softirq (kernel/softirq.c:462:3) netif_rx (net/core/dev.c:5326:3) dev_loopback_xmit (net/core/dev.c:4015:2) ip_mc_finish_output (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:363:8) NF_HOOK (./include/linux/netfilter.h:314:9) ip_mc_output (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:400:5) dst_output (./include/net/dst.h:459:9) ip_local_out (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:130:9) ip_send_skb (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:1496:8) udp_send_skb (net/ipv4/udp.c:1040:8) udp_sendmsg (net/ipv4/udp.c:1328:10) The output interface has a 4->6 program attached at ingress. We try to loop the multicast skb back to the sending socket. Ingress BPF runs as part of netif_rx(), pushes a valid v6 hdr and changes skb->protocol to v6. We enter ip6_rcv_core which tries to use skb_dst(). But the dst is still an IPv4 one left after IPv4 mcast output. Clear the dst in all BPF helpers which change the protocol. Try to preserve metadata dsts, those may carry non-routing metadata.
Business impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2025-38192, a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) affecting linux kernel, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.
Recommended administrator action
Confirm whether linux kernel is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.