CVE-2025-38018 [Medium] | Security Vulnerability in Linux Kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/tls: fix kernel panic when alloc_page failed We cannot set frag_list to NULL pointer when alloc_page failed. It will be used in tls_strp_check_queue_ok when the next time tls_strp_read_sock is called. This is because we don't reset full_len in tls_strp_flush_anchor_copy() so the recv path will try to continue handling the partial record on the next call but we dettached the rcvq from the frag list. Alternative fix would be to reset full_len. Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000028 Call trace: tls_strp_check_rcv+0x128/0x27c tls_strp_data_ready+0x34/0x44 tls_data_ready+0x3c/0x1f0 tcp_data_ready+0x9c/0xe4 tcp_data_queue+0xf6c/0x12d0 tcp_rcv_established+0x52c/0x798

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-04-14	0.02%	0.09%	+0.07%
2	2025-12-18	0.06%	0.02%	-0.04%
3	2025-11-26	—	0.06%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-04-14

0.02%

0.09%

+0.07%

2025-12-18

0.06%

0.02%

-0.04%

2025-11-26

—

0.06%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
5.5	3.1	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:N) Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	3.6	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

5.5

3.1

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N): Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

3.6

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38018

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	unimportant	CVE-2025-38018 unimportant priority: Debian including 2 source packages (linux, linux-6.1), 6 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 6.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-38018
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38018
`suse`	medium	—	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38018/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2025-38018 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1551 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1145, ignored 164, released 136, not-affected 101, needed 2, needs-triage 2, pending 1.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38018

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38018

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	>= 6.0, < 6.1.140	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 6.2, < 6.6.92	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 6.7, < 6.12.30	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	>= 6.13, < 6.14.8	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel::::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.15	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc1::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.15	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc2::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.15	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc3::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.15	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc4::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.15	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc5::::::
linux	linux_kernel	6.15	cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc6::::::
debian	debian_linux	11.0	cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:::::::*

References for CVE-2025-38018

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/406d05da26835943568e61bb751c569efae071d4	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/491deb9b8c4ad12fe51d554a69b8165b9ef9429f	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f1f833cb388592bb46104463a1ec1b7c41975b6	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f7f96549bc55e4ef3a6b499bc5011e5de2f46c4	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a11b8c0be6acd0505a58ff40d474bd778b25b93a	Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/08/msg00010.html	Third Party Advisory

URL

CVE-2025-38018 | net/tls: fix kernel panic when alloc_page failed

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-38018

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38018

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-38018

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38018

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38018

References for CVE-2025-38018