Categories
CVE-2025-38084 high CVSS 7.8

Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2025-38084)

Summary

Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2025-38084). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.

Original description

The description as published by the source.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm/hugetlb: unshare page tables during VMA split, not before

Currently, __split_vma() triggers hugetlb page table unsharing through
vm_ops->may_split(). This happens before the VMA lock and rmap locks are
taken - which is too early, it allows racing VMA-locked page faults in our
process and racing rmap walks from other processes to cause page tables to
be shared again before we actually perform the split.

Fix it by explicitly calling into the hugetlb unshare logic from
__split_vma() in the same place where THP splitting also happens. At that
point, both the VMA and the rmap(s) are write-locked.

An annoying detail is that we can now call into the helper
hugetlb_unshare_pmds() from two different locking contexts:

  1. from hugetlb_split(), holding:
    • mmap lock (exclusively)
    • VMA lock
    • file rmap lock (exclusively)
  2. hugetlb_unshare_all_pmds(), which I think is designed to be able to
    call us with only the mmap lock held (in shared mode), but currently
    only runs while holding mmap lock (exclusively) and VMA lock

Backporting note:
This commit fixes a racy protection that was introduced in commit
b30c14cd6102 ("hugetlb: unshare some PMDs when splitting VMAs"); that
commit claimed to fix an issue introduced in 5.13, but it should actually
also go all the way back.

[jannh@google.com: v2]

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD

Auto-generated summary

Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.

A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-38084 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.8/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2025-38084" on the vendor's site.

CVE-2025-38084 (Linux kernel) — CVSS v3 7.8
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.

❓ What is the problem

A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in Linux kernel.

📍 Affected scope

Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.

🔥 Severity

Severity: High (CVSS 7.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.

🔧 How to fix

Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.

🛡️ Workaround

Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.

🔍 Detection

Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.

Response actions

Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order

  1. 1
    Identify exposure identify
    Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.

    資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。

  2. 2
    Post-deployment verification verify
    Confirm patched version is live in production

    パッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。

Affected packages

Linux Kernel
[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"2.6.20"},{"fixed":"5.10.239"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.11.0"},{"fixed":"5.15.186"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.16.0"},{"fixed":"6.1.142"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.2.0"},{"fixed":"6.6.95"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.7.0"},{"fixed":"6.12.35"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.13.0"},{"fixed":"6.15.4"}]}]

Fix status by distribution

Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE

References

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