Linux Kernel up to 6.6.94/6.12.34/6.15.3/6.16-rc2 sunrpc null pointer dereference

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5.4	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.94/6.12.34/6.15.3/6.16-rc2. Affected is an unknown function of the component sunrpc. The manipulation leads to an unknown weakness. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2025-38089. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.94/6.12.34/6.15.3/6.16-rc2. It has been rated as problematic. This issue affects an unknown code of the component sunrpc. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sunrpc: handle SVC_GARBAGE during svc auth processing as auth error tianshuo han reported a remotely-triggerable crash if the client sends a kernel RPC server a specially crafted packet. If decoding the RPC reply fails in such a way that SVC_GARBAGE is returned without setting the rq_accept_statp pointer, then that pointer can be dereferenced and a value stored there. If it's the first time the thread has processed an RPC, then that pointer will be set to NULL and the kernel will crash. In other cases, it could create a memory scribble. The server sunrpc code treats a SVC_GARBAGE return from svc_authenticate or pg_authenticate as if it should send a GARBAGE_ARGS reply. RFC 5531 says that if authentication fails that the RPC should be rejected instead with a status of AUTH_ERR. Handle a SVC_GARBAGE return as an AUTH_ERROR, with a reason of AUTH_BADCRED instead of returning GARBAGE_ARGS in that case. This sidesteps the whole problem of touching the rpc_accept_statp pointer in this situation and avoids the crash.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-38089 since 04/16/2025. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 242164 (Oracle Linux 8 / 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2025-20470)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.95, 6.12.35, 6.15.4 or 6.16-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 599c489eea793821232a2f69a00fa57d82b0ac98/353e75b55e583635bf71cde6abcec274dba05edd/c90459cd58bb421d275337093d8e901e0ba748dd/94d10a4dba0bc482f2b01e39f06d5513d0f75742 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 (242164), EUVD (EUVD-2025-19770) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1417). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• IBM DataPower Gateway
• Dell NetWorker

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.6.0
• 6.6.1
• 6.6.2
• 6.6.3
• 6.6.4
• 6.6.5
• 6.6.6
• 6.6.7
• 6.6.8
• 6.6.9
• 6.6.10
• 6.6.11
• 6.6.12
• 6.6.13
• 6.6.14
• 6.6.15
• 6.6.16
• 6.6.17
• 6.6.18
• 6.6.19
• 6.6.20
• 6.6.21
• 6.6.22
• 6.6.23
• 6.6.24
• 6.6.25
• 6.6.26
• 6.6.27
• 6.6.28
• 6.6.29
• 6.6.30
• 6.6.31
• 6.6.32
• 6.6.33
• 6.6.34
• 6.6.35
• 6.6.36
• 6.6.37
• 6.6.38
• 6.6.39
• 6.6.40
• 6.6.41
• 6.6.42
• 6.6.43
• 6.6.44
• 6.6.45
• 6.6.46
• 6.6.47
• 6.6.48
• 6.6.49
• 6.6.50
• 6.6.51
• 6.6.52
• 6.6.53
• 6.6.54
• 6.6.55
• 6.6.56
• 6.6.57
• 6.6.58
• 6.6.59
• 6.6.60
• 6.6.61
• 6.6.62
• 6.6.63
• 6.6.64
• 6.6.65
• 6.6.66
• 6.6.67
• 6.6.68
• 6.6.69
• 6.6.70
• 6.6.71
• 6.6.72
• 6.6.73
• 6.6.74
• 6.6.75
• 6.6.76
• 6.6.77
• 6.6.78
• 6.6.79
• 6.6.80
• 6.6.81
• 6.6.82
• 6.6.83
• 6.6.84
• 6.6.85
• 6.6.86
• 6.6.87
• 6.6.88
• 6.6.89
• 6.6.90
• 6.6.91
• 6.6.92
• 6.6.93
• 6.6.94
• 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
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.15.0
• 6.15.1
• 6.15.2
• 6.15.3
• 6.16-rc1
• 6.16-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.4

VulDB Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Temp Score: 5.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 242164
Nessus Name: Oracle Linux 8 / 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2025-20470)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.6.95/6.12.35/6.15.4/6.16-rc3
Patch: 599c489eea793821232a2f69a00fa57d82b0ac98/353e75b55e583635bf71cde6abcec274dba05edd/c90459cd58bb421d275337093d8e901e0ba748dd/94d10a4dba0bc482f2b01e39f06d5513d0f75742

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
06/30/2025 +75 days Advisory disclosed
06/30/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
01/31/2026 +214 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-38089 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-38089
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-314423
EUVD: 🔒
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1417 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 06/30/2025 11:58
Updated: 01/31/2026 00:02
Changes: 06/30/2025 11:58 (56), 06/30/2025 13:42 (1), 07/03/2025 12:29 (1), 07/17/2025 11:13 (2), 07/21/2025 14:32 (7), 08/05/2025 15:35 (1), 10/15/2025 04:43 (1), 11/19/2025 19:40 (12), 01/31/2026 00:02 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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