CVE-2025-38461 | vsock: Fix transport_* TOCTOU

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vsock: Fix transport_* TOCTOU Transport assignment may race with module unload. Protect new_transport from becoming a stale pointer. This also takes care of an insecure call in vsock_use_local_transport(); add a lockdep assert. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: fffffbfff8056000 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN RIP: 0010:vsock_assign_transport+0x366/0x600 Call Trace: vsock_connect+0x59c/0xc40 __sys_connect+0xe8/0x100 __x64_sys_connect+0x6e/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x92/0x1c0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53

Published: 2025-07-25 Last update: 2025-12-22 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2025-38461 is rated Low Risk (24.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.05%). 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-2025-38461

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 2026-05-21 0.04% 0.05% +0.01%
2 2025-12-21 0.06% 0.04% -0.02%
3 2025-11-24 — 0.06% —

Full EPSS history (4 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38461

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-2025-38461

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38461

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2025-38461 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-2025-38461
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38461
suse medium CVE-2025-38461 severity moderate: SUSE including 537 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, …), 1043 product×package rows across 200 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (200 product lines)): Fixed 690, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 101, First Fixed 21. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38461/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38461 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1414 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1017, released 169, ignored 157, not-affected 63, needed 4, needs-triage 2, pending 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38461

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38461

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.240 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.189 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.146 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.99 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.39 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.15.7 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38461

cvelogic Threat Intelligence