Use After Free in Linux
CVE-2025-38471
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tls: always refresh the queue when reading sock After recent changes in net-next TCP compacts skbs much more aggressively. This unearthed a bug in TLS where we may try to operate on an old skb when checking if all skbs in the queue have matching decrypt state and geometry. BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in tls_strp_check_rcv+0x898/0x9a0 [tls] (net/tls/tls_strp.c:436 net/tls/tls_strp.c:530 net/tls/tls_strp.c:544) Read of size 4 at addr ffff888013085750 by task tls/13529 CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 13529 Comm: tls Not tainted 6.16.0-rc5-virtme Call Trace: kasan_report+0xca/0x100 tls_strp_check_rcv+0x898/0x9a0 [tls] tls_rx_rec_wait+0x2c9/0x8d0 [tls] tls_sw_recvmsg+0x40f/0x1aa0 [tls] inet_recvmsg+0x1c3/0x1f0 Always reload the queue, fast path is to have the record in the queue when we wake, anyway (IOW the path going down "if !strp->stm.full_len").
Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free
EPSS: 0.002 (4.8th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Affected products
- Linux — versions 6.16, 6.6.100, 6.15.8
- Linux Linux_kernel — versions 6.1, 6.16
- Debian Debian_linux — versions 11.0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 (Third Party Advisory)
- 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-38471?
- CVE-2025-38471 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2025-07-28.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38471?
- Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2025-38471 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.