Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2025-38572

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: reject malicious packets in ipv6_gso_segment() syzbot was able to craft a packet with very long IPv6 extension headers leading to an overflow of skb->transport_header. This 16bit field has a limited range. Add skb_reset_transport_header_careful() helper and use it from ipv6_gso_segment() WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 5871 at ./include/linux/skbuff.h:3032 skb_reset_transport_header include/linux/skbuff.h:3032 [inline] WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 5871 at ./include/linux/skbuff.h:3032 ipv6_gso_segment+0x15e2/0x21e0 net/ipv6/ip6_offload.c:151 Modules linked in: CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 5871 Comm: syz-executor211 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc6-syzkaller-g7abc678e3084 #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 07/12/2025 RIP: 0010:skb_reset_transport_header include/linux/skbuff.h:3032 [inline] RIP: 0010:ipv6_gso_segment+0x15e2/0x21e0 net/ipv6/ip6_offload.c:151 Call Trace: <TASK> skb_mac_gso_segment+0x31c/0x640 net/core/gso.c:53 nsh_gso_segment+0x54a/0xe10 net/nsh/nsh.c:110 skb_mac_gso_segment+0x31c/0x640 net/core/gso.c:53 __skb_gso_segment+0x342/0x510 net/core/gso.c:124 skb_gso_segment include/net/gso.h:83 [inline] validate_xmit_skb+0x857/0x11b0 net/core/dev.c:3950 validate_xmit_skb_list+0x84/0x120 net/core/dev.c:4000 sch_direct_xmit+0xd3/0x4b0 net/sched/sch_generic.c:329 __dev_xmit_skb net/core/dev.c:4102 [inline] __dev_queue_xmit+0x17b6/0x3a70 net/core/dev.c:4679

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 (7.2th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 7th percentile — 7.2% 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-2025-38572: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

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

Affected products

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38572?
CVE-2025-38572 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-08-19.
How severe is CVE-2025-38572?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-38572 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.