CVE-2025-38277 [Medium] | Security Vulnerability in Linux Kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mtd: nand: ecc-mxic: Fix use of uninitialized variable ret If ctx->steps is zero, the loop processing ECC steps is skipped, and the variable ret remains uninitialized. It is later checked and returned, which leads to undefined behavior and may cause unpredictable results in user space or kernel crashes. This scenario can be triggered in edge cases such as misconfigured geometry, ECC engine misuse, or if ctx->steps is not validated after initialization. Initialize ret to zero before the loop to ensure correct and safe behavior regardless of the ctx->steps value. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with SVACE.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.07%	0.16%	+0.09%
2	2026-05-06	0.02%	0.07%	+0.05%
3	2025-07-10	—	0.02%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.07%

0.16%

+0.09%

2026-05-06

0.02%

0.07%

+0.05%

2025-07-10

—

0.02%

—

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-2025-38277

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	unimportant	CVE-2025-38277 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-2025-38277
`redhat`	—	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38277
`suse`	medium	CVE-2025-38277 severity moderate: SUSE including 476 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, …), 1108 product×package rows across 216 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (216 product lines)): Fixed 627, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 229, First Fixed 21.	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38277/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2025-38277 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 164, released 137, not-affected 100, needed 2, needs-triage 2, pending 1.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38277

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38277

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
linux	linux_kernel	>= 5.18, < 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::::::::
debian	debian_linux	11.0	cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:::::::*

References for CVE-2025-38277

URL	Tags
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/49482f4a39620f6afedcd3f6aa9e0d558b6a460b	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d9d6e4be09472aa72953caca3dbefdc27846170	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a23cc510ecaabab4f6df7e9d910d16e279b72ad	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0d9d9b5a4634e146ae41cb25667322e5c7d74d2	Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d95846350aac72303036a70c4cdc69ae314aa26d	Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html	Mailing List Third Party Advisory

URL

CVE-2025-38277 | mtd: nand: ecc-mxic: Fix use of uninitialized variable ret

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-38277

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38277

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-38277

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38277

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38277

References for CVE-2025-38277