CVE-2025-38492 | netfs: Fix race between cache write completion and ALL_QUEUED being set

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Fix race between cache write completion and ALL_QUEUED being set When netfslib is issuing subrequests, the subrequests start processing immediately and may complete before we reach the end of the issuing function. At the end of the issuing function we set NETFS_RREQ_ALL_QUEUED to indicate to the collector that we aren't going to issue any more subreqs and that it can do the final notifications and cleanup. Now, this isn't a problem if the request is synchronous (NETFS_RREQ_OFFLOAD_COLLECTION is unset) as the result collection will be done in-thread and we're guaranteed an opportunity to run the collector. However, if the request is asynchronous, collection is primarily triggered by the termination of subrequests queuing it on a workqueue. Now, a race can occur here if the app thread sets ALL_QUEUED after the last subrequest terminates. This can happen most easily with the copy2cache code (as used by Ceph) where, in the collection routine of a read request, an asynchronous write request is spawned to copy data to the cache. Folios are added to the write request as they're unlocked, but there may be a delay before ALL_QUEUED is set as the write subrequests may complete before we get there. If all the write subreqs have finished by the ALL_QUEUED point, no further events happen and the collection never happens, leaving the request hanging. Fix this by queuing the collector after setting ALL_QUEUED. This is a bit heavy-handed and it may be sufficient to do it only if there are no extant subreqs. Also add a tracepoint to cross-reference both requests in a copy-to-request operation and add a trace to the netfs_rreq tracepoint to indicate the setting of ALL_QUEUED.

Published: 2025-07-28 Last update: 2025-11-19 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-38492 is rated Low Risk (19.9/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

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-2025-38492

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 2025-07-28 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38492

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-2025-38492

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38492

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2025-38492 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-38492
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38492
suse medium CVE-2025-38492 severity moderate: SUSE including 26 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 281 product×package rows across 55 product lines (SLES-LTSS-TERADATA 15 SP2, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7, … (55 product lines)): Known Not Affected 281. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38492/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38492 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, ignored 153, not-affected 134, released 106, needs-triage 2, needed 1, pending 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38492

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38492

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.14, < 6.15.8 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:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.16 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38492

cvelogic Threat Intelligence