Linux Kernel up to 6.12.33/6.15.2 ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set buffer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.33/6.15.2. Affected by this issue is the function ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set. This manipulation causes buffer overflow. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-38101. There is no exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.33/6.15.2 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-120. The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ring-buffer: Fix buffer locking in ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set() Enlarge the critical section in ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set() to ensure that error handling takes place with per-buffer mutex held, thus preventing list corruption and other concurrency-related issues.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-38101 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. 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 12/06/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 246934 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38101), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.34, 6.15.3 or 6.16-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch e09c0600beea469b3ebf974464e526a02d59ad62/0fc9a295cd8e59c3636e97395e7c74a9c89fee42/40ee2afafc1d9fe3aa44a6fbe440d78a5c96a72e 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 (246934) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1452). 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
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Avamar
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

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
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.15.0
• 6.15.1
• 6.15.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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

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