Vulnerability in Linux
CVE-2025-38542
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: appletalk: Fix device refcount leak in atrtr_create() When updating an existing route entry in atrtr_create(), the old device reference was not being released before assigning the new device, leading to a device refcount leak. Fix this by calling dev_put() to release the old device reference before holding the new one.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.002 (5.9th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 5.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000
Affected products
- Linux — versions c7f905f0f6d49ed8c1aa4566c31f0383a0ba0c9d, 2.6.12, 0
- Linux Kernel — versions 2.6.12, 6.16
- Debian Linux — versions 11.0
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)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 (Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2025-38542?
- CVE-2025-38542 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-08-16.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38542?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2025-38542 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.