CVE-2025-38388
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-07-25
Last updated on: 2025-11-19
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-667 | The product does not properly acquire or release a lock on a resource, leading to unexpected resource state changes and behaviors. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel where a mutex is used to protect notifier hashtable accesses. Using a mutex in this context can cause the kernel to attempt to sleep while in an atomic context, which is invalid and leads to kernel warnings and potential instability. The fix replaces the mutex with a read-write lock (rwlock), which allows multiple readers to access concurrently without sleeping, avoiding contention and deadlocks, while still ensuring exclusive access for writers.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can cause kernel warnings and potential instability due to improper locking in atomic contexts. It may lead to deadlocks or unexpected behavior in the kernel, which can affect system reliability and performance.
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring the kernel logs for specific warnings indicating a sleeping function called from an atomic context. You can check for these warnings using the command: dmesg | grep 'BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context'. Additionally, reviewing kernel logs for messages related to mutex_lock and atomic context issues can help identify the problem.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
To mitigate this vulnerability, update the Linux kernel to a version where the mutex protecting the notifier hashtable accesses has been replaced with an rwlock. This change prevents sleeping in atomic context and resolves related kernel warnings. Until the update is applied, monitoring kernel logs for the described warnings can help in early detection.