What is CVE-2025-38656?

CVE-2025-38656 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-08-22.

How severe is CVE-2025-38656?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2025-38656

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: iwlwifi: Fix error code in iwl_op_mode_dvm_start() Preserve the error code if iwl_setup_deferred_work() fails. The current code returns ERR_PTR(0) (which is NULL) on this path. I believe the missing error code potentially leads to a use after free involving debugfs.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

EPSS: 0.002 (5.5th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

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.

Affected products

Linux — versions 90a0d9f339960448a3acc1437a46730f975efd6a, 6663c52608d8d8727bf1911e6d9218069ba1c85e, c80832d445653baba5ac80cd2c2637c437ac881b
Linux Linux_kernel

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-416 — Use After Free

References

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 (Patch)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38656?: CVE-2025-38656 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-08-22.
How severe is CVE-2025-38656?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.