CVE-2025-38115 | net_sched: sch_sfq: fix a potential crash on gso_skb handling

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net_sched: sch_sfq: fix a potential crash on gso_skb handling SFQ has an assumption of always being able to queue at least one packet. However, after the blamed commit, sch->q.len can be inflated by packets in sch->gso_skb, and an enqueue() on an empty SFQ qdisc can be followed by an immediate drop. Fix sfq_drop() to properly clear q->tail in this situation. ip netns add lb ip link add dev to-lb type veth peer name in-lb netns lb ethtool -K to-lb tso off # force qdisc to requeue gso_skb ip netns exec lb ethtool -K in-lb gro on # enable NAPI ip link set dev to-lb up ip -netns lb link set dev in-lb up ip addr add dev to-lb 192.168.20.1/24 ip -netns lb addr add dev in-lb 192.168.20.2/24 tc qdisc replace dev to-lb root sfq limit 100 ip netns exec lb netserver netperf -H 192.168.20.2 -l 100 & netperf -H 192.168.20.2 -l 100 & netperf -H 192.168.20.2 -l 100 & netperf -H 192.168.20.2 -l 100 &

Published: 2025-07-03 Last update: 2025-12-17 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-38115 is rated Low Risk (32.7/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.12%). 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-2025-38115

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 2026-04-29 0.03% 0.12% +0.09%
2 2025-12-18 0.05% 0.03% -0.03%
3 2025-10-17 0.05%

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38115

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-38115

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38115

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2025-38115 not yet assigned 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-2025-38115
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38115
suse medium CVE-2025-38115 severity moderate: SUSE including 434 source package names (2.1.3-6.67:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-32.1.21.10, 2.1.3-7.44:kernel-default-6.4.0-32.1, …), 807 product×package rows across 171 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (171 product lines)): Fixed 546, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 30. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38115/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38115 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 164, not-affected 45, needed 25, needs-triage 2, pending 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38115

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38115

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 4.16, < 5.4.295 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.239 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.186 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.142 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.94 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.34 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.15.3 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38115

URL Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5814a7fc3abb41f63f2d44c9d3ff9d4e62965b72 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82448d4dcd8406dec688632a405fdcf7f170ec69 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82ffbe7776d0ac084031f114167712269bf3d832 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c19498bdd7cb9d854bd3c54260f71cf7408495e Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b44f791f27b14c9eb6b907fbe51f2ba8bec32085 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b4e9bab6011b9559b7c157b16b91ae46d4d8c533 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c337efb20d6d9f9bbb4746f6b119917af5c886dc Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1bc80da75c789f2f6830df89d91fb2f7a509943 Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html Third Party Advisory
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