Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc5 vsock_find_cid null pointer dereference

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4.6	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc5. This impacts the function vsock_find_cid. This manipulation causes null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2025-38462. No exploit is available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16-rc5. Affected by this vulnerability is the function vsock_find_cid. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is 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. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vsock: Fix transport_{g2h,h2g} TOCTOU vsock_find_cid() and vsock_dev_do_ioctl() may race with module unload. transport_{g2h,h2g} may become NULL after the NULL check. Introduce vsock_transport_local_cid() to protect from a potential null-ptr-deref. KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000118-0x000000000000011f] RIP: 0010:vsock_find_cid+0x47/0x90 Call Trace: __vsock_bind+0x4b2/0x720 vsock_bind+0x90/0xe0 __sys_bind+0x14d/0x1e0 __x64_sys_bind+0x6e/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x92/0x1c0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000118-0x000000000000011f] RIP: 0010:vsock_dev_do_ioctl.isra.0+0x58/0xf0 Call Trace: __x64_sys_ioctl+0x12d/0x190 do_syscall_64+0x92/0x1c0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-38462 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 253428 (SUSE SLES15 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2025:02923-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.240, 5.15.189, 6.1.146, 6.6.99, 6.12.39, 6.15.7 or 6.16-rc6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch c5496ee685c48ed1cc183cd4263602579bb4a615/80d7dc15805a93d520a249ac6d13d4f4df161c1b/5752d8dbb3dfd7f1a9faf0f65377e60826ea9a17/401239811fa728fcdd53e360a91f157ffd23e1f4/3734d78210cceb2ee5615719a62a5c55ed381ff8/6a1bcab67bea797d83aa9dd948a0ac6ed52d121d/209fd720838aaf1420416494c5505096478156b4 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 (253428), EUVD (EUVD-2025-22679) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1653). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• 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

• 5.10.239
• 5.15.188
• 6.1.145
• 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
• 6.6.95
• 6.6.96
• 6.6.97
• 6.6.98
• 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
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.15.0
• 6.15.1
• 6.15.2
• 6.15.3
• 6.15.4
• 6.15.5
• 6.15.6
• 6.16-rc1
• 6.16-rc2
• 6.16-rc3
• 6.16-rc4
• 6.16-rc5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
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CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
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CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.6

VulDB Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 4.7
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: 253428
Nessus Name: SUSE SLES15 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2025:02923-1)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.240/5.15.189/6.1.146/6.6.99/6.12.39/6.15.7/6.16-rc6
Patch: c5496ee685c48ed1cc183cd4263602579bb4a615/80d7dc15805a93d520a249ac6d13d4f4df161c1b/5752d8dbb3dfd7f1a9faf0f65377e60826ea9a17/401239811fa728fcdd53e360a91f157ffd23e1f4/3734d78210cceb2ee5615719a62a5c55ed381ff8/6a1bcab67bea797d83aa9dd948a0ac6ed52d121d/209fd720838aaf1420416494c5505096478156b4

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
07/25/2025 +100 days Advisory disclosed
07/25/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
01/04/2026 +162 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-38462 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-38462
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-317755
EUVD: 🔒
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1653 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 07/25/2025 19:35
Updated: 01/04/2026 00:15
Changes: 07/25/2025 19:35 (58), 07/28/2025 07:58 (1), 07/30/2025 04:17 (1), 08/22/2025 22:44 (7), 08/24/2025 02:12 (2), 09/15/2025 05:37 (1), 09/29/2025 02:26 (1), 11/02/2025 13:58 (1), 12/23/2025 02:41 (9), 01/04/2026 00:15 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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