Buffer overflow in Linux

CVE-2025-38533

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: libwx: fix the using of Rx buffer DMA The wx_rx_buffer structure contained two DMA address fields: 'dma' and 'page_dma'. However, only 'page_dma' was actually initialized and used to program the Rx descriptor. But 'dma' was uninitialized and used in some paths. This could lead to undefined behavior, including DMA errors or use-after-free, if the uninitialized 'dma' was used. Althrough such error has not yet occurred, it is worth fixing in the code.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published · last modified .

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.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (20.4th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 20th percentile — 20.4% 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-2025-38533: held from 0.003 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 3c47e8ae113a68da47987750d9896e325d0aeedd, 6.3, 0
  • Linux Kernel — versions 6.16

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38533?
CVE-2025-38533 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Out-of-bounds Write. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2025-08-16.
How severe is CVE-2025-38533?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.