CVE Intelligence
Medium

CVE-2025-38140 — dm: limit swapping tables for devices with zone write plugs

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dm: limit swapping tables for devices with zone write plugs dm_revalidate_zones() only allowed new or previously unzoned devices to call blk_revalidate_disk_zones(). If the device was already zoned, disk->nr_zones would always equal md->nr_zones, so dm_revalidate_zones() returned without doing any work. This would make the zoned settings for the device not match the new table. If the device had zone write plug resources, it could run into errors like bdev_zone_is_seq() reading invalid memory because disk->conv_zones_bitmap was the wrong size. If the device doesn't have any zone write plug resources, calling blk_revalidate_disk_zones() will always correctly update device. If blk_revalidate_disk_zones() fails, it can still overwrite or clear the current disk->nr_zones value. In this case, DM must restore the previous value of disk->nr_zones, so that the zoned settings will continue to match the previous value that it fell back to. If the device already has zone write plug resources, blk_revalidate_disk_zones() will not correctly update them, if it is called for arbitrary zoned device changes. Since there is not much need for this ability, the easiest solution is to disallow any table reloads that change the zoned settings, for devices that already have zone plug resources. Specifically, if a device already has zone plug resources allocated, it can only switch to another zoned table that also emulates zone append. Also, it cannot change the device size or the zone size. A device can switch to an error target.

Published Jul 3, 2025 · Updated Oct 21, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+2
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.22%
ahead of 13% of scored CVEs · Oct 26, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 2 source(s)

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ bb37d77239af25cde59693dbe3fac04dd17d7b29 and < 13c0425c99c67c2296f1eec61254a4f91484eac3≥ bb37d77239af25cde59693dbe3fac04dd17d7b29 and < ac8acb0bfd98a1c65f3ca9a3e217a766124eebd8≥ bb37d77239af25cde59693dbe3fac04dd17d7b29 and < 121218bef4c1df165181f5cd8fc3a2246bac817eversion 5.14 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 5.14 and < 6.15.3 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 1.8 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 20, 2026 → Oct 26, 2026 · 7 reading(s) · max 0.22%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 21, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 21, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 21, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · linux/linux kernel
    Oct 21, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 21, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 21, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 21, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Jul 3, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 21, 2026 – Oct 21, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 21, 2026 – Oct 21, 2026

References

5 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99092 riscv: patch: fix handling of bpf-jit execmem addresses 1d
  • CVE-2026-99093 mm: don't schedule deferred kernel page table freeing while booting 1d
  • CVE-2026-99095 drm/vc4: drain the hangcheck timer and works on V3D unbind 1d
  • CVE-2026-99096 io_uring/register: don't exempt disabled rings from task restrictions 1d
  • CVE-2026-99097 tee: shm: reject zero-sized allocations in tee_dyn_shm_alloc_helper() 1d
  • CVE-2026-99098 dm-integrity: fix buffer overflow in inline mode with large tag size 1d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2025-38140 is "dm: limit swapping tables for devices with zone write plugs", rated Medium. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.22% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

Comments

Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.

No comments yet.

Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.