CVE-2025-38720
Linux Kernel 6.14 – 6.15.11
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2025-38720 is a medium-severity Improper Locking (CWE-667) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Endpoint Denial of Service (T1499); ranked at the 2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-26749
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: hibmcge: fix rtnl deadlock issue Currently, the hibmcge netdev acquires the rtnl_lock in pci_error_handlers.reset_prepare() and releases it in pci_error_handlers.reset_done(). However, in the PCI framework: pci_reset_bus - __pci_reset_slot - pci_slot_save_and_disable_locked…
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- pci_dev_save_and_disable - err_handler->reset_prepare(dev); In pci_slot_save_and_disable_locked(): list_for_each_entry(dev, &slot->bus->devices, bus_list) { if (!dev->slot || dev->slot!= slot) continue; pci_dev_save_and_disable(dev); if (dev->subordinate) pci_bus_save_and_disable_locked(dev->subordinate); } This will iterate through all devices under the current bus and execute err_handler->reset_prepare(), causing two devices of the hibmcge driver to sequentially request the rtnl_lock, leading to a deadlock. Since the driver now executes netif_device_detach() before the reset process, it will not concurrently with other netdev APIs, so there is no need to hold the rtnl_lock now. Therefore, this patch removes the rtnl_lock during the reset process and adjusts the position of HBG_NIC_STATE_RESETTING to ensure that multiple resets are not executed concurrently.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly include code reviews, static analysis, and concurrency standards that prevent improper locking.
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.
Security testing can detect race conditions and locking errors before release.
Secure development lifecycle includes concurrency and locking requirements that reduce improper locking defects.
Application security requirements can mandate proper lock acquisition/release patterns.
Secure architecture principles address thread-safety and resource synchronization.
Secure coding standards directly prohibit missing or incorrect lock usage.
Change management may catch locking issues introduced by modifications but does not prevent the weakness itself.