Linux Kernel up to 6.12.30/6.14.8 bpf copy_verifier_state state issue

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.30/6.14.8. The affected element is the function copy_verifier_state of the component bpf. The manipulation leads to state issue. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-38060. No exploit exists. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.30/6.14.8. It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects the function copy_verifier_state of the component bpf. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a state issue vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-371. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: copy_verifier_state() should copy 'loop_entry' field The bpf_verifier_state.loop_entry state should be copied by copy_verifier_state(). Otherwise, .loop_entry values from unrelated states would poison env->cur_state. Additionally, env->stack should not contain any states with .loop_entry != NULL. The states in env->stack are yet to be verified, while .loop_entry is set for states that reached an equivalent state. This means that env->cur_state->loop_entry should always be NULL after pop_stack(). See the selftest in the next commit for an example of the program that is not safe yet is accepted by verifier w/o this fix. This change has some verification performance impact for selftests: File Program Insns (A) Insns (B) Insns (DIFF) States (A) States (B) States (DIFF) ---------------------------------- ---------------------------- --------- --------- -------------- ---------- ---------- ------------- arena_htab.bpf.o arena_htab_llvm 717 426 -291 (-40.59%) 57 37 -20 (-35.09%) arena_htab_asm.bpf.o arena_htab_asm 597 445 -152 (-25.46%) 47 37 -10 (-21.28%) arena_list.bpf.o arena_list_del 309 279 -30 (-9.71%) 23 14 -9 (-39.13%) iters.bpf.o iter_subprog_check_stacksafe 155 141 -14 (-9.03%) 15 14 -1 (-6.67%) iters.bpf.o iter_subprog_iters 1094 1003 -91 (-8.32%) 88 83 -5 (-5.68%) iters.bpf.o loop_state_deps2 479 725 +246 (+51.36%) 46 63 +17 (+36.96%) kmem_cache_iter.bpf.o open_coded_iter 63 59 -4 (-6.35%) 7 6 -1 (-14.29%) verifier_bits_iter.bpf.o max_words 92 84 -8 (-8.70%) 8 7 -1 (-12.50%) verifier_iterating_callbacks.bpf.o cond_break2 113 107 -6 (-5.31%) 12 12 +0 (+0.00%) And significant negative impact for sched_ext: File Program Insns (A) Insns (B) Insns (DIFF) States (A) States (B) States (DIFF) ----------------- ---------------------- --------- --------- -------------------- ---------- ---------- ------------------ bpf.bpf.o lavd_init 7039 14723 +7684 (+109.16%) 490 1139 +649 (+132.45%) bpf.bpf.o layered_dispatch 11485 10548 -937 (-8.16%) 848 762 -86 (-10.14%) bpf.bpf.o layered_dump 7422 1000001 +992579 (+13373.47%) 681 31178 +30497 (+4478.27%) bpf.bpf.o layered_enqueue 16854 71127 +54273 (+322.02%) 1611 6450 +4839 (+300.37%) bpf.bpf.o p2dq_dispatch 665 791 +126 (+18.95%) 68 78 +10 (+14.71%) bpf.bpf.o p2dq_init 2343 2980 +637 (+27.19%) 201 237 +36 (+17.91%) bpf.bpf.o refresh_layer_cpumasks 16487 674760 +658273 (+3992.68%) 1770 65370 +63600 (+3593.22%) bpf.bpf.o rusty_select_cpu 1937 40872 +38935 (+2010.07%) 177 3210 +3033 (+1713.56%) scx_central.bpf.o central_dispatch 636 2687 +2051 (+322.48%) 63 227 +164 (+260.32%) scx_nest.bpf.o nest_init 636 815 +179 (+28.14%) 60 73 +13 (+21.67%) scx_qmap.bpf.o qmap_dispatch ---truncated---

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-38060 since 04/16/2025. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/18/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 241605 (SUSE SLES15 / openSUSE 15 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2025:02249-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.31 or 6.14.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 46ba5757a7a4714e7d3f68cfe118208822cb3d78/8b4afd89fa75f738a80ca849126fd3cad77bcbf1/bbbc02b7445ebfda13e4847f4f1413c6480a85a9 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (241605), EUVD (EUVD-2025-18593) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1350). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Avamar
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• IBM QRadar SIEM

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.14.0
• 6.14.1
• 6.14.2
• 6.14.3
• 6.14.4
• 6.14.5
• 6.14.6
• 6.14.7
• 6.14.8

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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