CVE Intelligence
Medium Memory corruption

CVE-2025-38696 — MIPS: Don't crash in stack_top() for tasks without ABI or vDSO

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: MIPS: Don't crash in stack_top() for tasks without ABI or vDSO Not all tasks have an ABI associated or vDSO mapped, for example kthreads never do. If such a task ever ends up calling stack_top(), it will derefence the NULL ABI pointer and crash. This can for example happen when using kunit: mips_stack_top+0x28/0xc0 arch_pick_mmap_layout+0x190/0x220 kunit_vm_mmap_init+0xf8/0x138 __kunit_add_resource+0x40/0xa8 kunit_vm_mmap+0x88/0xd8 usercopy_test_init+0xb8/0x240 kunit_try_run_case+0x5c/0x1a8 kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x28/0x50 kthread+0x118/0x240 ret_from_kernel_thread+0x14/0x1c Only dereference the ABI point if it is set. The GIC page is also included as it is specific to the vDSO. Also move the randomization adjustment into the same conditional.

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
0.19%
ahead of 8% 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)
  • 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 ≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < ab18e48a503230d675e824a0d68a108bdff42503version 4.19≥ 4.18.15 and < 4.19≥ 4.14.77 and < 4.15version e4882348eaa9f5f052cb21d2a5aa99a063e4308bversion 86717a97f9218de798c6d33e0014ab9325e18f56≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < e9f4a6b3421e936c3ee9d74710243897d74dbaa2≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < cddf47d20b0325dc8a4e57b833fe96e8f36c42a4
and 6 more ≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < 24d098b6f69b0aa806ffcb3e18259bee31650b28≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < 82d140f6aab5e89a9d3972697a0dbe1498752d9b≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < f22de2027b206ddfb8a075800bb5d0dacf2da4b8≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < 5b6839b572b503609b9b58bc6c04a816eefa0794≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < bd90dbd196831f5c2620736dc221db2634cf1e8e≥ ea7e0480a4b695d0aa6b3fa99bd658a003122113 and < e78033e59444d257d095b73ce5d20625294f6ec2
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel version 4.19-rc8version 4.19≥ 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
and 4 more ≥ 5.5 and < 5.10.241≥ 4.19.1 and < 5.4.297≥ 4.18.15 and < 4.19≥ 4.14.77 and < 4.15
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-2025-38696 is "MIPS: Don't crash in stack_top() for tasks without ABI or vDSO", 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 0.19% 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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