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CVE-2025-38566

9.8 · CRITICAL

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sunrpc: fix handling of server side tls alerts Scott Mayhew discovered a security exploit in NFS over TLS in tls_alert_recv() d…

Published Aug 19, 2025CWE-754EPSS 0.59%

Overview

CVE-2025-38566 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 19, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sunrpc: fix handling of server side tls alerts

Scott Mayhew discovered a security exploit in NFS over TLS in

tls_alert_recv() due to its assumption it can read data from

the msg iterator's kvec..

kTLS implementation splits TLS non-data record payload between

the control message buffer (which includes the type such as TLS

aler or TLS cipher change) and the rest of the payload (say TLS

alert's level/description) which goes into the msg payload buffer.

This patch proposes to rework how control messages are setup and

used by sock_recvmsg().

If no control message structure is setup, kTLS layer will read and

process TLS data record types. As soon as it encounters a TLS control

message, it would return an error. At that point, NFS can setup a

kvec backed msg buffer and read in the control message such as a

TLS alert. Msg iterator can advance the kvec pointer as a part of

the copy process thus we need to revert the iterat

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38566?

CVE-2025-38566 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 19, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2025-38566?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2025-38566?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2025-38566?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2025-38566 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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