CVE-2025-38273 | net: tipc: fix refcount warning in tipc_aead_encrypt

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: tipc: fix refcount warning in tipc_aead_encrypt syzbot reported a refcount warning [1] caused by calling get_net() on a network namespace that is being destroyed (refcount=0). This happens when a TIPC discovery timer fires during network namespace cleanup. The recently added get_net() call in commit e279024617134 ("net/tipc: fix slab-use-after-free Read in tipc_aead_encrypt_done") attempts to hold a reference to the network namespace. However, if the namespace is already being destroyed, its refcount might be zero, leading to the use-after-free warning. Replace get_net() with maybe_get_net(), which safely checks if the refcount is non-zero before incrementing it. If the namespace is being destroyed, return -ENODEV early, after releasing the bearer reference. [1]: https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/T/#m12019cf9ae77e1954f666914640efa36d52704a2

Published: 2025-07-10 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-38273 is rated Low Risk (24/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.16%). 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-2025-38273

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% 0.16% +0.04%
2 2026-05-06 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-2025-38273

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-2025-38273

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38273

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2025-38273 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-2025-38273
redhat https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38273
suse medium CVE-2025-38273 severity moderate: SUSE including 245 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, …), 889 product×package rows across 215 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (215 product lines)): Fixed 627, Known Not Affected 241, First Fixed 21. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38273/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38273 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1548 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1142, ignored 151, not-affected 130, released 124, needed 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38273

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38273

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.12.31, < 6.12.34 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.14.9, < 6.15 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.15.1, < 6.15.3 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.10.238 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.10.238:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.15.185 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.15.185:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.1.141 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.141:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.6.93 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.93:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.15 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38273

cvelogic Threat Intelligence