CVE-2025-38659
Modified Modified - Updated After Analysis
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-08-22

Last updated on: 2026-06-01

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gfs2: No more self recovery When a node withdraws and it turns out that it is the only node that has the filesystem mounted, gfs2 currently tries to replay the local journal to bring the filesystem back into a consistent state. Not only is that a very bad idea, it has also never worked because gfs2_recover_func() will refuse to do anything during a withdraw. However, before even getting to this point, gfs2_recover_func() dereferences sdp->sd_jdesc->jd_inode. This was a use-after-free before commit 04133b607a78 ("gfs2: Prevent double iput for journal on error") and is a NULL pointer dereference since then. Simply get rid of self recovery to fix that.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-08-22
Last Modified
2026-06-01
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2025-08-22
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-14
NVD
CVE-2025-38659
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 4 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
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
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-476 The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability is in the Linux kernel's gfs2 filesystem. When a node withdraws and it is the only node with the filesystem mounted, gfs2 tries to replay the local journal to restore consistency. However, this self-recovery mechanism is flawed and has never worked properly. Specifically, the function gfs2_recover_func() dereferences a pointer that can be invalid, leading to a use-after-free or NULL pointer dereference. The fix was to remove this self-recovery attempt altogether.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to dereference invalid pointers during filesystem recovery, potentially leading to kernel crashes or system instability when the gfs2 filesystem is mounted by a single node that withdraws. This can result in data loss or downtime.

Mitigation Strategies

Update the Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for this vulnerability, which removes the faulty self recovery mechanism in gfs2. Avoid relying on gfs2 self recovery and ensure that your system is running the patched kernel version that prevents the use-after-free and NULL pointer dereference issues.

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