NULL pointer dereference in Linux

CVE-2025-38269

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: exit after state insertion failure at btrfs_convert_extent_bit() If insert_state() state failed it returns an error pointer and we call extent_io_tree_panic() which will trigger a BUG() call. However if CONFIG_BUG is disabled, which is an uncommon and exotic scenario, then we fallthrough and call cache_state() which will dereference the error pointer, resulting in an invalid memory access. So jump to the 'out' label after calling extent_io_tree_panic(), it also makes the code more clear besides dealing with the exotic scenario where CONFIG_BUG is disabled.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (6.1th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 6.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-38269: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38269?
CVE-2025-38269 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-07-10.
How severe is CVE-2025-38269?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.