Linux Kernel up to 6.16.0 f2fs f2fs_sync_inode_meta use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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6.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.147/6.6.101/6.12.41/6.15.9/6.16.0. Affected by this vulnerability is the function f2fs_sync_inode_meta of the component f2fs. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-38578. No exploit is available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.147/6.6.101/6.12.41/6.15.9/6.16.0. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function f2fs_sync_inode_meta of the component f2fs. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: f2fs: fix to avoid UAF in f2fs_sync_inode_meta() syzbot reported an UAF issue as below: [1] [2] [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/text?tag=CrashReport&x=16594c60580000 ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in __list_del_entry_valid+0xa6/0x130 lib/list_debug.c:62 Read of size 8 at addr ffff888100567dc8 by task kworker/u4:0/8 CPU: 1 PID: 8 Comm: kworker/u4:0 Tainted: G W 6.1.129-syzkaller-00017-g642656a36791 #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 02/12/2025 Workqueue: writeback wb_workfn (flush-7:0) Call Trace: <TASK> __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x151/0x1b7 lib/dump_stack.c:106 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:316 [inline] print_report+0x158/0x4e0 mm/kasan/report.c:427 kasan_report+0x13c/0x170 mm/kasan/report.c:531 __asan_report_load8_noabort+0x14/0x20 mm/kasan/report_generic.c:351 __list_del_entry_valid+0xa6/0x130 lib/list_debug.c:62 __list_del_entry include/linux/list.h:134 [inline] list_del_init include/linux/list.h:206 [inline] f2fs_inode_synced+0x100/0x2e0 fs/f2fs/super.c:1553 f2fs_update_inode+0x72/0x1c40 fs/f2fs/inode.c:588 f2fs_update_inode_page+0x135/0x170 fs/f2fs/inode.c:706 f2fs_write_inode+0x416/0x790 fs/f2fs/inode.c:734 write_inode fs/fs-writeback.c:1460 [inline] __writeback_single_inode+0x4cf/0xb80 fs/fs-writeback.c:1677 writeback_sb_inodes+0xb32/0x1910 fs/fs-writeback.c:1903 __writeback_inodes_wb+0x118/0x3f0 fs/fs-writeback.c:1974 wb_writeback+0x3da/0xa00 fs/fs-writeback.c:2081 wb_check_background_flush fs/fs-writeback.c:2151 [inline] wb_do_writeback fs/fs-writeback.c:2239 [inline] wb_workfn+0xbba/0x1030 fs/fs-writeback.c:2266 process_one_work+0x73d/0xcb0 kernel/workqueue.c:2299 worker_thread+0xa60/0x1260 kernel/workqueue.c:2446 kthread+0x26d/0x300 kernel/kthread.c:386 ret_from_fork+0x1f/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:295 </TASK> Allocated by task 298: kasan_save_stack mm/kasan/common.c:45 [inline] kasan_set_track+0x4b/0x70 mm/kasan/common.c:52 kasan_save_alloc_info+0x1f/0x30 mm/kasan/generic.c:505 __kasan_slab_alloc+0x6c/0x80 mm/kasan/common.c:333 kasan_slab_alloc include/linux/kasan.h:202 [inline] slab_post_alloc_hook+0x53/0x2c0 mm/slab.h:768 slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3421 [inline] slab_alloc mm/slub.c:3431 [inline] __kmem_cache_alloc_lru mm/slub.c:3438 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_lru+0x102/0x270 mm/slub.c:3454 alloc_inode_sb include/linux/fs.h:3255 [inline] f2fs_alloc_inode+0x2d/0x350 fs/f2fs/super.c:1437 alloc_inode fs/inode.c:261 [inline] iget_locked+0x18c/0x7e0 fs/inode.c:1373 f2fs_iget+0x55/0x4ca0 fs/f2fs/inode.c:486 f2fs_lookup+0x3c1/0xb50 fs/f2fs/namei.c:484 __lookup_slow+0x2b9/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:1689 lookup_slow+0x5a/0x80 fs/namei.c:1706 walk_component+0x2e7/0x410 fs/namei.c:1997 lookup_last fs/namei.c:2454 [inline] path_lookupat+0x16d/0x450 fs/namei.c:2478 filename_lookup+0x251/0x600 fs/namei.c:2507 vfs_statx+0x107/0x4b0 fs/stat.c:229 vfs_fstatat fs/stat.c:267 [inline] vfs_lstat include/linux/fs.h:3434 [inline] __do_sys_newlstat fs/stat.c:423 [inline] __se_sys_newlstat+0xda/0x7c0 fs/stat.c:417 __x64_sys_newlstat+0x5b/0x70 fs/stat.c:417 x64_sys_call+0x52/0x9a0 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:7 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x3b/0x80 arch/x86/entry/common.c:81 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x68/0xd2 Freed by task 0: kasan_save_stack mm/kasan/common.c:45 [inline] kasan_set_track+0x4b/0x70 mm/kasan/common.c:52 kasan_save_free_info+0x2b/0x40 mm/kasan/generic.c:516 ____kasan_slab_free+0x131/0x180 mm/kasan/common.c:241 __kasan_slab_free+0x11/0x20 mm/kasan/common.c:249 kasan_slab_free include/linux/kasan.h:178 [inline] slab_free_hook mm/slub.c:1745 [inline] slab_free_freelist_hook mm/slub.c:1771 [inline] slab_free mm/slub.c:3686 [inline] kmem_cache_free+0x ---truncated---

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-38578 since 04/16/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/09/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 260106 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38578), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.148, 6.6.102, 6.12.42, 6.15.10, 6.16.1 or 6.17-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 917ae5e280bc263f56c83fba0d0f0be2c4828083/3d37cadaac1a8e108e576297aab9125b24ea2dfe/dea243f58a8391e76f42ad5eb59ff210519ee772/a4b0cc9e0bba7525a29f37714e88df12a47997a2/6cac47af39b2b8edbb41d47c3bd9c332f83e9932/7c30d79930132466f5be7d0b57add14d1a016bda 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 (260106) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1869). 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
  • SUSE openSUSE
  • RESF Rocky Linux
  • Dell Avamar
  • Open Source Linux Kernel
  • Dell NetWorker
  • Dell Secure Connect Gateway
  • IBM QRadar SIEM

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.6

VulDB Base Score: 8.0
VulDB Temp Score: 7.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
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Nessus ID: 260106
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38578

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.1.148/6.6.102/6.12.42/6.15.10/6.16.1/6.17-rc1
Patch: 917ae5e280bc263f56c83fba0d0f0be2c4828083/3d37cadaac1a8e108e576297aab9125b24ea2dfe/dea243f58a8391e76f42ad5eb59ff210519ee772/a4b0cc9e0bba7525a29f37714e88df12a47997a2/6cac47af39b2b8edbb41d47c3bd9c332f83e9932/7c30d79930132466f5be7d0b57add14d1a016bda

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
08/19/2025 +125 days Advisory disclosed
08/19/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
01/09/2026 +143 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-38578 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-38578
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-320595
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1869 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 08/19/2025 19:25
Updated: 01/09/2026 16:17
Changes: 08/19/2025 19:25 (59), 09/01/2025 22:37 (2), 09/23/2025 05:48 (7), 09/24/2025 19:41 (1), 10/27/2025 00:25 (1), 11/01/2025 12:35 (1), 12/15/2025 22:58 (1), 01/09/2026 16:17 (13)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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

Discussion

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