CVE-2025-38203 in Linux
Summary
by MITRE • 07/04/2025
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
jfs: Fix null-ptr-deref in jfs_ioc_trim
[ Syzkaller Report ]
Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000087: 0000 [#1
KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000438-0x000000000000043f]
CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 10614 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 6.13.0-rc6-gfbfd64d25c7a-dirty #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.15.0-1 04/01/2014 Sched_ext: serialise (enabled+all), task: runnable_at=-30ms RIP: 0010:jfs_ioc_trim+0x34b/0x8f0 Code: e7 e8 59 a4 87 fe 4d 8b 24 24 4d 8d bc 24 38 04 00 00 48 8d 93 90 82 fe ff 4c 89 ff 31 f6 RSP: 0018:ffffc900055f7cd0 EFLAGS: 00010206 RAX: 0000000000000087 RBX: 00005866a9e67ff8 RCX: 000000000000000a RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: 0000000000000004 RDI: 0000000000000001 RBP: dffffc0000000000 R08: ffff88807c180003 R09: 1ffff1100f830000 R10: dffffc0000000000 R11: ffffed100f830001 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: 0000000000000438 FS: 00007fe520225640(0000) GS:ffff8880b7e80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00005593c91b2c88 CR3: 000000014927c000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die_body+0x61/0xb0 ? die_addr+0xb1/0xe0 ? exc_general_protection+0x333/0x510 ? asm_exc_general_protection+0x26/0x30 ? jfs_ioc_trim+0x34b/0x8f0 jfs_ioctl+0x3c8/0x4f0 ? __pfx_jfs_ioctl+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_jfs_ioctl+0x10/0x10 __se_sys_ioctl+0x269/0x350 ? __pfx___se_sys_ioctl+0x10/0x10 ? do_syscall_64+0xfb/0x210 do_syscall_64+0xee/0x210 ? syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x1e0/0x330 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7fe51f4903ad Code: c3 e8 a7 2b 00 00 0f 1f 80 00 00 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d RSP: 002b:00007fe5202250c8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007fe51f5cbf80 RCX: 00007fe51f4903ad RDX: 0000000020000680 RSI: 00000000c0185879 RDI: 0000000000000005 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007fe520225640 R13: 000000000000000e R14: 00007fe51f44fca0 R15: 00007fe52021d000 </TASK> Modules linked in: ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
RIP: 0010:jfs_ioc_trim+0x34b/0x8f0 Code: e7 e8 59 a4 87 fe 4d 8b 24 24 4d 8d bc 24 38 04 00 00 48 8d 93 90 82 fe ff 4c 89 ff 31 f6 RSP: 0018:ffffc900055f7cd0 EFLAGS: 00010206 RAX: 0000000000000087 RBX: 00005866a9e67ff8 RCX: 000000000000000a RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: 0000000000000004 RDI: 0000000000000001 RBP: dffffc0000000000 R08: ffff88807c180003 R09: 1ffff1100f830000 R10: dffffc0000000000 R11: ffffed100f830001 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 0000000000000001 R15: 0000000000000438 FS: 00007fe520225640(0000) GS:ffff8880b7e80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00005593c91b2c88 CR3: 000000014927c000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception
[ Analysis ]
We believe that we have found a concurrency bug in the `fs/jfs` module that results in a null pointer dereference. There is a closely related issue which has been fixed:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=d6c1b3599b2feb5c7291f5ac3a36e5fa7cedb234
... but, unfortunately, the accepted patch appears to still be susceptible to a null pointer dereference under some interleavings.
To trigger the bug, we think that `JFS_SBI(ipbmap->i_sb)->bmap` is set to NULL in `dbFreeBits` and then dereferenced in `jfs_ioc_trim`. This bug manifests quite rarely under normal circumstances, but is triggereable from a syz-program.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/19/2025
The vulnerability CVE-2025-38203 represents a critical null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel's JFS (Journaled File System) implementation, specifically within the jfs_ioc_trim function. This flaw arises from a concurrency issue in the file system's handling of bitmap structures during trim operations, where a race condition allows a pointer to be set to NULL in one context and subsequently dereferenced in another. The issue manifests as a general protection fault, leading to kernel panic and system instability. The vulnerability was identified through syzkaller, a kernel fuzzer, indicating its potential for exploitation under specific interleaving conditions that are difficult to reproduce in normal operation but can be triggered systematically.
The technical root cause stems from improper synchronization mechanisms in the JFS subsystem where the bmap pointer within the JFS superblock information structure becomes NULLified during memory cleanup operations in the dbFreeBits function. When jfs_ioc_trim attempts to access this pointer, it results in a null pointer dereference that triggers a kernel panic. This pattern aligns with CWE-476, which describes null pointer dereference vulnerabilities, and demonstrates a classic concurrency bug where memory management and access operations are not properly synchronized. The vulnerability specifically affects the JFS file system's ioctl interface, particularly the trim operation that is used for SSD optimization and space reclamation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it can lead to complete system crashes and potential denial of service conditions in systems utilizing JFS file systems. While the bug is rare under normal circumstances, its exploitability through kernel fuzzing tools like syzkaller suggests that it could be leveraged by attackers to cause system instability or potentially escalate privileges. The vulnerability's manifestation through a general protection fault indicates that it affects kernel memory management and can compromise the integrity of the operating system kernel. This makes it particularly dangerous in production environments where JFS is in use, as it could be exploited to cause system-wide outages or serve as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper synchronization mechanisms around the bmap pointer access and ensuring that all pointers are validated before dereferencing. The fix should involve adding appropriate locking mechanisms or reference counting to prevent the scenario where a pointer is set to NULL while other threads may still be accessing it. Additionally, defensive programming practices such as null checks before pointer dereferences should be enforced throughout the affected code path. System administrators should ensure that affected kernel versions are updated promptly and that monitoring is in place to detect any potential exploitation attempts. This vulnerability also highlights the importance of continuous kernel security auditing and the need for robust concurrency control mechanisms in file system implementations, particularly those handling low-level storage operations such as trim commands. The fix should be aligned with ATT&CK framework techniques related to privilege escalation and defense evasion, as such kernel-level vulnerabilities can enable attackers to bypass security controls and maintain persistent access to compromised systems.