CVE-2025-38528
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-08-16

Last updated on: 2025-11-03

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Reject %p% format string in bprintf-like helpers static const char fmt[] = "%p%"; bpf_trace_printk(fmt, sizeof(fmt)); The above BPF program isn't rejected and causes a kernel warning at runtime: Please remove unsupported %\x00 in format string WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 7244 at lib/vsprintf.c:2680 format_decode+0x49c/0x5d0 This happens because bpf_bprintf_prepare skips over the second %, detected as punctuation, while processing %p. This patch fixes it by not skipping over punctuation. %\x00 is then processed in the next iteration and rejected.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-08-16
Last Modified
2025-11-03
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-08-16
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2025-38528
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 6.1.153-1
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
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AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability involves the Linux kernel's BPF (Berkeley Packet Filter) subsystem where a specific format string "%p%" used in bprintf-like helper functions is not properly rejected. The BPF program using this format string causes a kernel warning at runtime because the format string processing incorrectly skips over the second '%' character, treating it as punctuation. This leads to an unsupported format string being processed, which triggers a kernel warning. The vulnerability is fixed by changing the processing to not skip punctuation, allowing the unsupported format string to be detected and rejected.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause kernel warnings and potentially unstable behavior when BPF programs use unsupported format strings like "%p%". While it does not explicitly mention exploitation or security breaches, improper handling of format strings in kernel code can lead to unexpected kernel behavior or crashes, which may affect system stability and reliability.


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