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CVE-2025-38638

5.5 · MEDIUM

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: add a retry logic in net6_rt_notify() inet6_rt_notify() can be called under RCU protection only.

Published Aug 22, 2025EPSS 0.14%

Overview

CVE-2025-38638 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 22, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

Technical description

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

ipv6: add a retry logic in net6_rt_notify()

inet6_rt_notify() can be called under RCU protection only.

This means the route could be changed concurrently

and rt6_fill_node() could return -EMSGSIZE.

Re-size the skb when this happens and retry, removing

one WARN_ON() that syzbot was able to trigger:

WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 6291 at net/ipv6/route.c:6342 inet6_rt_notify+0x475/0x4b0 net/ipv6/route.c:6342

Modules linked in:

CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 6291 Comm: syz.0.77 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc7-syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full)

Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2~bpo12+1 04/01/2014

RIP: 0010:inet6_rt_notify+0x475/0x4b0 net/ipv6/route.c:6342

Code: fc ff ff e8 6d 52 ea f7 e9 47 fc ff ff 48 8b 7c 24 08 4c 89 04 24 e8 5a 52 ea f7 4c 8b 04 24 e9 94 fd ff ff e8 9c fe 84 f7 90 <0f> 0b 90 e9 bd fd ff ff e8 6e 52 ea f7 e9 bb fb ff ff 48 89 df e8

RSP: 0018:ffffc900035cf1d8 EFLAGS: 00010293

RAX: 00000000000

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-2025-38638?

CVE-2025-38638 is a medium-severity vulnerability. It was published on August 22, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-38638?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2025-38638?

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-2025-38638?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2025-38638 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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