CVE-2025-38231 | nfsd: Initialize ssc before laundromat_work to prevent NULL dereference

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: Initialize ssc before laundromat_work to prevent NULL dereference In nfs4_state_start_net(), laundromat_work may access nfsd_ssc through nfs4_laundromat -> nfsd4_ssc_expire_umount. If nfsd_ssc isn't initialized, this can cause NULL pointer dereference. Normally the delayed start of laundromat_work allows sufficient time for nfsd_ssc initialization to complete. However, when the kernel waits too long for userspace responses (e.g. in nfs4_state_start_net -> nfsd4_end_grace -> nfsd4_record_grace_done -> nfsd4_cld_grace_done -> cld_pipe_upcall -> __cld_pipe_upcall -> wait_for_completion path), the delayed work may start before nfsd_ssc initialization finishes. Fix this by moving nfsd_ssc initialization before starting laundromat_work.

Published: 2025-07-04 Last update: 2026-05-12 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2025-38231 is rated Low Risk (23.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.15%). 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-2025-38231

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 2026-06-15 0.12% 0.15% +0.03%
2 2026-04-30 0.03% 0.12% +0.09%
3 2025-12-19 — 0.03% —

Full EPSS history (5 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38231

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-2025-38231

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2025-38231

GHSA-7q5j-m65f-w95r · Severity: medium — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: Initialize ssc before...

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38231

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2025-38231 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-2025-38231
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38231
suse medium CVE-2025-38231 severity moderate: SUSE including 475 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, …), 997 product×package rows across 197 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (197 product lines)): Fixed 627, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 118, First Fixed 21. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38231/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38231 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 170, ignored 164, not-affected 66, needed 3, needs-triage 2, pending 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38231

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38231

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.10.220, < 5.10.239 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.14, < 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, < 6.6.95 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.35 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.15.4 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38231

URL Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0fccf5f01ed28725cc313a66ca1247eef911d55e Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5060e1a5fef184bd11d298e3f0ee920d96a23236 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/83ac1ba8ca102ab5c0ed4351f8ac6e74ac4d5d64 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a97668ec6d73dab237cd1c15efe012a10090a4ed Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b31da62889e6d610114d81dc7a6edbcaa503fcf8 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d622c2ee6c08147ab8c9b9e37d93b6e95d3258e0 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/deaeb74ae9318252829c59a84a7d2316fc335660 Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html
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