CVE-2025-38048 | virtio_ring: Fix data race by tagging event_triggered as racy for KCSAN

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_ring: Fix data race by tagging event_triggered as racy for KCSAN syzbot reports a data-race when accessing the event_triggered, here is the simplified stack when the issue occurred: ================================================================== BUG: KCSAN: data-race in virtqueue_disable_cb / virtqueue_enable_cb_delayed write to 0xffff8881025bc452 of 1 bytes by task 3288 on cpu 0: virtqueue_enable_cb_delayed+0x42/0x3c0 drivers/virtio/virtio_ring.c:2653 start_xmit+0x230/0x1310 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:3264 __netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:5151 [inline] netdev_start_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:5160 [inline] xmit_one net/core/dev.c:3800 [inline] read to 0xffff8881025bc452 of 1 bytes by interrupt on cpu 1: virtqueue_disable_cb_split drivers/virtio/virtio_ring.c:880 [inline] virtqueue_disable_cb+0x92/0x180 drivers/virtio/virtio_ring.c:2566 skb_xmit_done+0x5f/0x140 drivers/net/virtio_net.c:777 vring_interrupt+0x161/0x190 drivers/virtio/virtio_ring.c:2715 __handle_irq_event_percpu+0x95/0x490 kernel/irq/handle.c:158 handle_irq_event_percpu kernel/irq/handle.c:193 [inline] value changed: 0x01 -> 0x00 ================================================================== When the data race occurs, the function virtqueue_enable_cb_delayed() sets event_triggered to false, and virtqueue_disable_cb_split/packed() reads it as false due to the race condition. Since event_triggered is an unreliable hint used for optimization, this should only cause the driver temporarily suggest that the device not send an interrupt notification when the event index is used. Fix this KCSAN reported data-race issue by explicitly tagging the access as data_racy.

Published: 2025-06-18 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-38048 is rated Low Risk (24.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.05%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-38048

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-04-14 0.02% 0.05% +0.03%
2 2025-12-18 0.06% 0.02% -0.04%
3 2025-11-26 0.06%

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38048

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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.
1.0 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-38048

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38048

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2025-38048 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-2025-38048
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38048
suse low CVE-2025-38048 severity low: SUSE including 26 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 172 product×package rows across 36 product lines (SLES-LTSS-TERADATA 15 SP2, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7, … (36 product lines)): Known Not Affected 94, Will Not Fix 78. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38048/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38048 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, released 169, ignored 168, needed 45, not-affected 21, needs-triage 2, pending 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38048

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38048

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel < 5.15.185 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.141 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.93 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.31 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.14.9 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:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38048

cvelogic Threat Intelligence