CVE Intelligence
Medium

CVE-2025-38261 — riscv: save the SR_SUM status over switches

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: riscv: save the SR_SUM status over switches When threads/tasks are switched we need to ensure the old execution's SR_SUM state is saved and the new thread has the old SR_SUM state restored. The issue was seen under heavy load especially with the syz-stress tool running, with crashes as follows in schedule_tail: Unable to handle kernel access to user memory without uaccess routines at virtual address 000000002749f0d0 Oops [#1] Modules linked in: CPU: 1 PID: 4875 Comm: syz-executor.0 Not tainted 5.12.0-rc2-syzkaller-00467-g0d7588ab9ef9 #0 Hardware name: riscv-virtio,qemu (DT) epc : schedule_tail+0x72/0xb2 kernel/sched/core.c:4264 ra : task_pid_vnr include/linux/sched.h:1421 [inline] ra : schedule_tail+0x70/0xb2 kernel/sched/core.c:4264 epc : ffffffe00008c8b0 ra : ffffffe00008c8ae sp : ffffffe025d17ec0 gp : ffffffe005d25378 tp : ffffffe00f0d0000 t0 : 0000000000000000 t1 : 0000000000000001 t2 : 00000000000f4240 s0 : ffffffe025d17ee0 s1 : 000000002749f0d0 a0 : 000000000000002a a1 : 0000000000000003 a2 : 1ffffffc0cfac500 a3 : ffffffe0000c80cc a4 : 5ae9db91c19bbe00 a5 : 0000000000000000 a6 : 0000000000f00000 a7 : ffffffe000082eba s2 : 0000000000040000 s3 : ffffffe00eef96c0 s4 : ffffffe022c77fe0 s5 : 0000000000004000 s6 : ffffffe067d74e00 s7 : ffffffe067d74850 s8 : ffffffe067d73e18 s9 : ffffffe067d74e00 s10: ffffffe00eef96e8 s11: 000000ae6cdf8368 t3 : 5ae9db91c19bbe00 t4 : ffffffc4043cafb2 t5 : ffffffc4043cafba t6 : 0000000000040000 status: 0000000000000120 badaddr: 000000002749f0d0 cause: 000000000000000f Call Trace: [<ffffffe00008c8b0>] schedule_tail+0x72/0xb2 kernel/sched/core.c:4264 [<ffffffe000005570>] ret_from_exception+0x0/0x14 Dumping ftrace buffer: (ftrace buffer empty) ---[ end trace b5f8f9231dc87dda ]--- The issue comes from the put_user() in schedule_tail (kernel/sched/core.c) doing the following: asmlinkage __visible void schedule_tail(struct task_struct *prev) { ... if (current->set_child_tid) put_user(task_pid_vnr(current), current->set_child_tid); ... } the put_user() macro causes the code sequence to come out as follows: 1: __enable_user_access() 2: reg = task_pid_vnr(current); 3: *current->set_child_tid = reg; 4: __disable_user_access() The problem is that we may have a sleeping function as argument which could clear SR_SUM causing the panic above. This was fixed by evaluating the argument of the put_user() macro outside the user-enabled section in commit 285a76bb2cf5 ("riscv: evaluate put_user() arg before enabling user access")" In order for riscv to take advantage of unsafe_get/put_XXX() macros and to avoid the same issue we had with put_user() and sleeping functions we must ensure code flow can go through switch_to() from within a region of code with SR_SUM enabled and come back with SR_SUM still enabled. This patch addresses the problem allowing future work to enable full use of unsafe_get/put_XXX() macros without needing to take a CSR bit flip cost on every access. Make switch_to() save and restore SR_SUM.

Published Jul 9, 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
0.24%
ahead of 15% of scored CVEs · Oct 26, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 4 source(s)
Prioritization reference: 7.8 provisional

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 ≥ 76d2a0493a17d4c8ecc781366850c3c4f8e1a446 and < 1b63cdc0d63ae33522b4714642fbefa298acc274≥ 76d2a0493a17d4c8ecc781366850c3c4f8e1a446 and < 9e7005c3638134df5b7df467c1d884a2482c77cb≥ 76d2a0493a17d4c8ecc781366850c3c4f8e1a446 and < 69ea599a8dab93a620c92c255be4239a06290a77≥ 76d2a0493a17d4c8ecc781366850c3c4f8e1a446 and < 788aa64c01f1262310b4c1fb827a36df170d86eaversion 4.15 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 4.15 and < 6.15.5 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
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
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)
Scoring entities (NIST, CNA, ADP) score independently; each score is shown with its origin. For prioritization we use 7.8 (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 20, 2026 → Oct 26, 2026 · 7 reading(s) · max 0.24%

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 9, 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

6 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 21h
  • CVE-2026-99093 mm: don't schedule deferred kernel page table freeing while booting 21h
  • CVE-2026-99095 drm/vc4: drain the hangcheck timer and works on V3D unbind 21h
  • CVE-2026-99096 io_uring/register: don't exempt disabled rings from task restrictions 21h
  • CVE-2026-99097 tee: shm: reject zero-sized allocations in tee_dyn_shm_alloc_helper() 21h
  • CVE-2026-99098 dm-integrity: fix buffer overflow in inline mode with large tag size 21h

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-2025-38261 is "riscv: save the SR_SUM status over switches", 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 0.24% 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.

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