CVE-2025-38617 | net/packet: fix a race in packet_set_ring() and packet_notifier()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/packet: fix a race in packet_set_ring() and packet_notifier() When packet_set_ring() releases po->bind_lock, another thread can run packet_notifier() and process an NETDEV_UP event. This race and the fix are both similar to that of commit 15fe076edea7 ("net/packet: fix a race in packet_bind() and packet_notifier()"). There too the packet_notifier NETDEV_UP event managed to run while a po->bind_lock critical section had to be temporarily released. And the fix was similarly to temporarily set po->num to zero to keep the socket unhooked until the lock is retaken. The po->bind_lock in packet_set_ring and packet_notifier precede the introduction of git history.

Published: 2025-08-22 Last update: 2026-03-18 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2025-38617 is rated Low Risk (26.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.29%). 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-2025-38617

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 0.03% 0.29% +0.25%
2 2026-05-13 0.06% 0.03% -0.03%
3 2026-03-30 — 0.06% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38617

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-2025-38617

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38617

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2025-38617 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-2025-38617
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38617
suse high CVE-2025-38617 severity important: SUSE including 706 source package names (13.2-9.1:libgcrypt20-1.10.3-slfo.1.1_2.1, 13.2-9.1:libip4tc2-1.8.9-4.1, …), 1891 product×package rows across 375 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, … (375 product lines)): Fixed 1398, Known Not Affected 245, Known Affected 226, First Fixed 22. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38617/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38617 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 211, ignored 160, not-affected 23, needs-triage 2, needed 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38617

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38617

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 2.6.13, < 5.4.297 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.5, < 5.10.241 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.190 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.148 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.102 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.42 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.15.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.16, < 6.16.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 2.6.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 2.6.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 2.6.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 2.6.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 2.6.12 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 11.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38617

URL Tags
https://blog.calif.io/p/a-race-within-a-race-exploiting-cve
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01d3c8417b9c1b884a8a981a3b886da556512f36 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/18f13f2a83eb81be349a9757ba2141ff1da9ad73 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7da733f117533e9b2ebbd530a22ae4028713955c Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7de07705007c7e34995a5599aaab1d23e762d7ca Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88caf46db8239e6471413d28aabaa6b8bd552805 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba2257034755ae773722f15f4c3ad1dcdad15ca9 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e50ccfaca9e3c671cae917dcb994831a859cf588 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1791fd7b845bea0ce9674fcf2febee7bc87a893 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f2e8fcfd2b1bc754920108b7f2cd75082c5a18df Patch
https://github.com/google/security-research/pull/339
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html Third Party Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html Third Party Advisory
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