CVE Intelligence
Medium Memory corruption

CVE-2025-38684 — net/sched: ets: use old 'nbands' while purging unused classes

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: ets: use old 'nbands' while purging unused classes Shuang reported sch_ets test-case [1] crashing in ets_class_qlen_notify() after recent changes from Lion [2]. The problem is: in ets_qdisc_change() we purge unused DWRR queues; the value of 'q->nbands' is the new one, and the cleanup should be done with the old one. The problem is here since my first attempts to fix ets_qdisc_change(), but it surfaced again after the recent qdisc len accounting fixes. Fix it purging idle DWRR queues before assigning a new value of 'q->nbands', so that all purge operations find a consistent configuration: - old 'q->nbands' because it's needed by ets_class_find() - old 'q->nstrict' because it's needed by ets_class_is_strict() BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 62 UID: 0 PID: 39457 Comm: tc Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.12.0-116.el10.x86_64 #1 PREEMPT(voluntary) Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R640/06DKY5, BIOS 2.12.2 07/09/2021 RIP: 0010:__list_del_entry_valid_or_report+0x4/0x80 Code: ff 4c 39 c7 0f 84 39 19 8e ff b8 01 00 00 00 c3 cc cc cc cc 66 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 f3 0f 1e fa <48> 8b 17 48 8b 4f 08 48 85 d2 0f 84 56 19 8e ff 48 85 c9 0f 84 ab RSP: 0018:ffffba186009f400 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: 00000000000000d6 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000004 RDX: ffff9f0fa29b69c0 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: ffffffffc12c2400 R08: 0000000000000008 R09: 0000000000000004 R10: ffffffffffffffff R11: 0000000000000004 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: ffff9f0f8cfe0000 R14: 0000000000100005 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f2154f37480(0000) GS:ffff9f269c1c0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 00000001530be001 CR4: 00000000007726f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ets_class_qlen_notify+0x65/0x90 [sch_ets] qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog+0x74/0x110 ets_qdisc_change+0x630/0xa40 [sch_ets] __tc_modify_qdisc.constprop.0+0x216/0x7f0 tc_modify_qdisc+0x7c/0x120 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x145/0x3f0 netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100 netlink_unicast+0x245/0x390 netlink_sendmsg+0x21b/0x470 ____sys_sendmsg+0x39d/0x3d0 ___sys_sendmsg+0x9a/0xe0 __sys_sendmsg+0x7a/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x7d/0x160 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7f2155114084 Code: 89 02 b8 ff ff ff ff eb bb 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 00 f3 0f 1e fa 80 3d 25 f0 0c 00 00 74 13 b8 2e 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 54 c3 0f 1f 00 48 83 ec 28 89 54 24 1c 48 89 RSP: 002b:00007fff1fd7a988 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002e RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000560ec063e5e0 RCX: 00007f2155114084 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00007fff1fd7a9f0 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007fff1fd7aa60 R08: 0000000000000010 R09: 000000000000003f R10: 0000560ee9b3a010 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 00007fff1fd7aae0 R13: 000000006891ccde R14: 0000560ec063e5e0 R15: 00007fff1fd7aad0 </TASK> [1] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/e08c7f4a6882f260011909a868311c6e9b54f3e4.1639153474.git.dcaratti@redhat.com/ [2] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/d912cbd7-193b-4269-9857-525bee8bbb6a@gmail.com/

Published Sep 4, 2025 · Updated Oct 19, 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)+1
  • 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
0.18%
ahead of 7% of scored CVEs · Oct 19, 2026
Affects
Debian
Debian Linux and 2 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)
  • 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 matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), 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 ≥ dcc68b4d8084e1ac9af0d4022d6b1aff6a139a33 and < bdfddcde86e8b9245d9c0c2efe2b6fe8dcf6bf41version 5.6≥ 5.4.296 and < 5.5version 3b290923ad2b23596208c1e29520badef4356a43≥ dcc68b4d8084e1ac9af0d4022d6b1aff6a139a33 and < 87c6efc5ce9c126ae4a781bc04504b83780e3650≥ dcc68b4d8084e1ac9af0d4022d6b1aff6a139a33 and < 970c1c731c4ede46d05f5b0355724d1e400cfbca≥ dcc68b4d8084e1ac9af0d4022d6b1aff6a139a33 and < d69f4a258cd91b3bcef7089eb0401005aae2aed5≥ dcc68b4d8084e1ac9af0d4022d6b1aff6a139a33 and < 5b3b346bc4c2aa2c428735438a11989d251f32f1
and 3 more ≥ dcc68b4d8084e1ac9af0d4022d6b1aff6a139a33 and < 84a24fb446ee07b22b64aae6f0e3f4a38266310a≥ dcc68b4d8084e1ac9af0d4022d6b1aff6a139a33 and < 97ec167cd2e8a81a2d87331a2ed92daf007542c8≥ dcc68b4d8084e1ac9af0d4022d6b1aff6a139a33 and < be9692dafdfb36d9c43afd9d4e1d9d9ba8e7b51b
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel version 6.17-rc1≥ 6.16 and < 6.16.2≥ 6.13 and < 6.15.11≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.43≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.103≥ 5.16 and < 6.1.149≥ 5.11 and < 5.15.190≥ 5.6 and < 5.10.241
and 1 more ≥ 5.4.296 and < 5.5
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
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)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

Other CVEs with this weakness →

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 19, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 19, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · linux/linux kernel, debian/debian linux
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 19, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Sep 4, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026

References

13 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Debian
every CVE for this vendor
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-476
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-98868 dm-pcache: reject a kset that overruns its segment 1d
  • CVE-2026-98866 sched/cache: Introduce task_struct->sched_cache_grp to fix UAF 1d
  • CVE-2026-98867 dm-pcache: bound the logical key offset from persistent memory 1d
  • CVE-2026-98865 sched_ext: Don't run ops.dequeue() with a DSQ lock held 1d
  • CVE-2026-98864 sched_ext: Wait for SCX_OPSS_DISPATCHING before reenqueueing a task 1d
  • CVE-2026-98863 KVM: x86: Re-pend GET_NESTED_STATE_PAGES if getting said pages fails 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 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-2025-38684 is "net/sched: ets: use old 'nbands' while purging unused classes", 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. EPSS 0.18% 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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