CVE Intelligence
Medium

CVE-2025-38639 — netfilter: xt_nfacct: don't assume acct name is null-terminated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: xt_nfacct: don't assume acct name is null-terminated BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in .. lib/vsprintf.c:721 Read of size 1 at addr ffff88801eac95c8 by task syz-executor183/5851 [..] string+0x231/0x2b0 lib/vsprintf.c:721 vsnprintf+0x739/0xf00 lib/vsprintf.c:2874 [..] nfacct_mt_checkentry+0xd2/0xe0 net/netfilter/xt_nfacct.c:41 xt_check_match+0x3d1/0xab0 net/netfilter/x_tables.c:523 nfnl_acct_find_get() handles non-null input, but the error printk relied on its presence.

Published Aug 22, 2025 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · 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
  • 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
—
No EPSS score.
Affects
Debian
Debian Linux and 2 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 3 source(s)
Prioritization reference: 7.1 provisional

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

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)
  • 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 (Debian Debian Linux, 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
Debian Debian Linux version 11.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Linux Linux ≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < 66d41268ede1e1b6e71ba28be923397ff0b2b9c3version 3.3≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < bf58e667af7d96c8eb9411f926a0a0955f41ce21≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < df13c9c6ce1d55c31d1bd49db65a7fbbd86aab13≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < 58007fc7b94fb2702000045ff401eb7f5bde7828≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < 7c1ae471da69c09242834e956218ea6a42dd405a≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < 58004aa21e79addaf41667bfe65e93ec51653f18≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < e18939176e657a3a20bfbed357b8c55a9f82aba3
and 2 more ≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < b10cfa2de13d28ddd03210eb234422b7ec92725a≥ ceb98d03eac5704820f2ac1f370c9ff385e3a9f5 and < e021a1eee196887536a6630c5492c23a4c78d452
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 6.16 and < 6.16.1≥ 6.13 and < 6.15.10≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.42≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.102≥ 5.16 and < 6.1.148≥ 5.11 and < 5.15.190≥ 5.5 and < 5.10.241≥ 3.3 and < 5.4.297 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
7.1 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.2 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.1 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
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 7.1 (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

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 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 15, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Aug 22, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

11 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Debian
every CVE for this vendor

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 13h
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 13h
  • CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
  • CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
  • CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
  • CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 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 FIRST EPSS score.
  • 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-2025-38639 is "netfilter: xt_nfacct: don't assume acct name is null-terminated", rated Medium. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. 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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