CVE Intelligence
Medium Memory corruption

CVE-2025-38590 — net/mlx5e: Remove skb secpath if xfrm state is not found

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Remove skb secpath if xfrm state is not found Hardware returns a unique identifier for a decrypted packet's xfrm state, this state is looked up in an xarray. However, the state might have been freed by the time of this lookup. Currently, if the state is not found, only a counter is incremented. The secpath (sp) extension on the skb is not removed, resulting in sp->len becoming 0. Subsequently, functions like __xfrm_policy_check() attempt to access fields such as xfrm_input_state(skb)->xso.type (which dereferences sp->xvec[sp->len - 1]) without first validating sp->len. This leads to a crash when dereferencing an invalid state pointer. This patch prevents the crash by explicitly removing the secpath extension from the skb if the xfrm state is not found after hardware decryption. This ensures downstream functions do not operate on a zero-length secpath. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffffff000002c8 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 282e067 P4D 282e067 PUD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 12 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/12 Not tainted 6.15.0-rc7_for_upstream_min_debug_2025_05_27_22_44 #1 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__xfrm_policy_check+0x61a/0xa30 Code: b6 77 7f 83 e6 02 74 14 4d 8b af d8 00 00 00 41 0f b6 45 05 c1 e0 03 48 98 49 01 c5 41 8b 45 00 83 e8 01 48 98 49 8b 44 c5 10 <0f> b6 80 c8 02 00 00 83 e0 0c 3c 04 0f 84 0c 02 00 00 31 ff 80 fa RSP: 0018:ffff88885fb04918 EFLAGS: 00010297 RAX: ffffffff00000000 RBX: 0000000000000002 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000002 RSI: 0000000000000002 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: ffffffff8311af80 R08: 0000000000000020 R09: 00000000c2eda353 R10: ffff88812be2bbc8 R11: 000000001faab533 R12: ffff88885fb049c8 R13: ffff88812be2bbc8 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff88811896ae00 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8888dca82000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: ffffffff000002c8 CR3: 0000000243050002 CR4: 0000000000372eb0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <IRQ> ? try_to_wake_up+0x108/0x4c0 ? udp4_lib_lookup2+0xbe/0x150 ? udp_lib_lport_inuse+0x100/0x100 ? __udp4_lib_lookup+0x2b0/0x410 __xfrm_policy_check2.constprop.0+0x11e/0x130 udp_queue_rcv_one_skb+0x1d/0x530 udp_unicast_rcv_skb+0x76/0x90 __udp4_lib_rcv+0xa64/0xe90 ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x20/0x130 ip_local_deliver_finish+0x75/0xa0 ip_local_deliver+0xc1/0xd0 ? ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x130/0x130 ip_sublist_rcv+0x1f9/0x240 ? ip_rcv_finish_core+0x430/0x430 ip_list_rcv+0xfc/0x130 __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x181/0x1e0 netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x200/0x360 ? mlx5e_build_rx_skb+0x1bc/0xda0 [mlx5_core] gro_receive_skb+0xfd/0x210 mlx5e_handle_rx_cqe_mpwrq+0x141/0x280 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_poll_rx_cq+0xcc/0x8e0 [mlx5_core] ? mlx5e_handle_rx_dim+0x91/0xd0 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_napi_poll+0x114/0xab0 [mlx5_core] __napi_poll+0x25/0x170 net_rx_action+0x32d/0x3a0 ? mlx5_eq_comp_int+0x8d/0x280 [mlx5_core] ? notifier_call_chain+0x33/0xa0 handle_softirqs+0xda/0x250 irq_exit_rcu+0x6d/0xc0 common_interrupt+0x81/0xa0 </IRQ>

Published Aug 19, 2025 · Updated Oct 30, 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 0.4% (30-day exploitation probability)+5
  • 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
0.38%
ahead of 32% of scored CVEs · Oct 30, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 4 source(s)
Prioritization reference: 7.5 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)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • 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 matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda and < 8c684ce222c54cd67ca0358ca718c8b042c75541≥ b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda and < 314f568b84b01f6eac1e4313ca47f9ade4349443≥ b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda and < 781a0bbf377443ef06f3248221f06cb555935530≥ b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda and < 3a5782431d84716b66302b07ff1b32fea1023bd5≥ b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda and < 137b12a4900eb6971b889839eab6036f72cbb217≥ b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda and < 6d19c44b5c6dd72f9a357d0399604ec16a77de3cversion 5.9 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 5.9 and < 6.6.102≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.42≥ 6.13 and < 6.15.10≥ 6.16 and < 6.16.1 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
7.5 CVSS 3.1 High 3.9 3.6 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.5 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 7.5 (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-401 · Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 29, 2026 → Oct 30, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.38%

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.
  • Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)crash dumps

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 30, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 30, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 30, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · linux/linux kernel
    Oct 30, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 30, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 30, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 30, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Aug 19, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 30, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 30, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026

References

8 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-401
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99216 Drivers: hv: Don't reset VMBus connection state on error/exit paths 3d
  • CVE-2026-99215 power: supply: core: prevent unregistering a power supply while a callback runs 3d
  • CVE-2026-99207 scsi: target: Disable interrupts while holding delayed_cmd_lock 3d
  • CVE-2026-99208 drm/xe/oa: Zero OA buffer at allocation 3d
  • CVE-2026-99209 drm/xe: skip eviction of a BO with no resource 3d
  • CVE-2026-99210 accel/rocket: clear rdev on device init failure 3d

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 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-2025-38590 is "net/mlx5e: Remove skb secpath if xfrm state is not found", 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 0.38% 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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