Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2025-38546

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: atm: clip: Fix memory leak of struct clip_vcc. ioctl(ATMARP_MKIP) allocates struct clip_vcc and set it to vcc->user_back. The code assumes that vcc_destroy_socket() passes NULL skb to vcc->push() when the socket is close()d, and then clip_push() frees clip_vcc. However, ioctl(ATMARPD_CTRL) sets NULL to vcc->push() in atm_init_atmarp(), resulting in memory leak. Let's serialise two ioctl() by lock_sock() and check vcc->push() in atm_init_atmarp() to prevent memleak.

EPSS: 0.002 (5.6th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

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.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38546?
CVE-2025-38546 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2025-08-16.
How severe is CVE-2025-38546?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-38546 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.