CVE-2025-38527 | smb: client: fix use-after-free in cifs_oplock_break

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix use-after-free in cifs_oplock_break A race condition can occur in cifs_oplock_break() leading to a use-after-free of the cinode structure when unmounting: cifs_oplock_break() _cifsFileInfo_put(cfile) cifsFileInfo_put_final() cifs_sb_deactive() [last ref, start releasing sb] kill_sb() kill_anon_super() generic_shutdown_super() evict_inodes() dispose_list() evict() destroy_inode() call_rcu(&inode->i_rcu, i_callback) spin_lock(&cinode->open_file_lock) <- OK [later] i_callback() cifs_free_inode() kmem_cache_free(cinode) spin_unlock(&cinode->open_file_lock) <- UAF cifs_done_oplock_break(cinode) <- UAF The issue occurs when umount has already released its reference to the superblock. When _cifsFileInfo_put() calls cifs_sb_deactive(), this releases the last reference, triggering the immediate cleanup of all inodes under RCU. However, cifs_oplock_break() continues to access the cinode after this point, resulting in use-after-free. Fix this by holding an extra reference to the superblock during the entire oplock break operation. This ensures that the superblock and its inodes remain valid until the oplock break completes.

Published: 2025-08-16 Last update: 2026-01-07 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-38527 is rated Low Risk (32.2/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). 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-2025-38527

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 2025-08-16 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38527

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-38527

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38527

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2025-38527 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 5, open 1. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-38527
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38527
suse medium CVE-2025-38527 severity moderate: SUSE including 542 source package names (2.1.3-6.80:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-35.1.21.12, 2.1.3-7.57:kernel-default-6.4.0-35.1, …), 1025 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 767, Known Affected 231, First Fixed 21, Known Not Affected 6. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38527/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38527 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 165, ignored 162, needed 41, not-affected 25, needs-triage 2, pending 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38527

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38527

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 3.16.72, < 3.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.9.171, < 4.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.14.114, < 4.15 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.19.37, < 4.20 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.0.10, < 5.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.1.1, < 5.15.190 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.147 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.100 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.40 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.15.8 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.1:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 5.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.1:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
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:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38527

cvelogic Threat Intelligence