Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-38022

Memory Safety in Linux Kernel 5.4.86 – 5.5

Published
18 June 2025
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0016 6th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-38022 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked at the 6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-16 (Memory Protection) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/core: Fix "KASAN: slab-use-after-free Read in ib_register_device" problem Call Trace: __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x116/0x1f0 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:408 [inline] print_report+0xc3/0x670 mm/kasan/report.c:521 kasan_report+0xe0/0x110 mm/kasan/report.c:634 strlen+0x93/0xa0 lib/string.c:420 __fortify_strlen include/linux/fortify-string.h:268 [inline] get_kobj_path_length lib/kobject.c:118 [inline]…

more

kobject_get_path+0x3f/0x2a0 lib/kobject.c:158 kobject_uevent_env+0x289/0x1870 lib/kobject_uevent.c:545 ib_register_device drivers/infiniband/core/device.c:1472 [inline] ib_register_device+0x8cf/0xe00 drivers/infiniband/core/device.c:1393 rxe_register_device+0x275/0x320 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe_verbs.c:1552 rxe_net_add+0x8e/0xe0 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe_net.c:550 rxe_newlink+0x70/0x190 drivers/infiniband/sw/rxe/rxe.c:225 nldev_newlink+0x3a3/0x680 drivers/infiniband/core/nldev.c:1796 rdma_nl_rcv_msg+0x387/0x6e0 drivers/infiniband/core/netlink.c:195 rdma_nl_rcv_skb.constprop.0.isra.0+0x2e5/0x450 netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1313 [inline] netlink_unicast+0x53a/0x7f0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1339 netlink_sendmsg+0x8d1/0xdd0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1883 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:712 [inline] __sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:727 [inline] ____sys_sendmsg+0xa95/0xc70 net/socket.c:2566 ___sys_sendmsg+0x134/0x1d0 net/socket.c:2620 __sys_sendmsg+0x16d/0x220 net/socket.c:2652 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xcd/0x260 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f This problem is similar to the problem that the commit 1d6a9e7449e2 ("RDMA/core: Fix use-after-free when rename device name") fixes. The root cause is: the function ib_device_rename() renames the name with lock. But in the function kobject_uevent(), this name is accessed without lock protection at the same time. The solution is to add the lock protection when this name is accessed in the function kobject_uevent().

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-56554Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-53500Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-52777Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-56772Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-58060Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-52800Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-53645Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2024-49852Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2025-37777Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2026-53011Same product: Linux Linux Kernel

Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
6.15 · 5.4.86 — 5.5 · 5.10.4 — 6.12.30 · 6.13 — 6.14.8

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • SI-16 Memory Protection
  • CM-7 Least Functionality
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires timely application of the kernel patch that resolves the slab-use-after-free in ib_register_device.

prevent

Enforces memory-protection mechanisms that block or contain use-after-free reads during RDMA device registration.

prevent

Restricts enabling of the RDMA/rxe subsystem unless explicitly required, eliminating the vulnerable code path.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

References