CVE-2025-38377

7.8 HIGH

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ROSE protocol implementation allows attackers to potentially crash systems or execute arbitrary code. This affects Linux systems using the ROSE amateur radio networking protocol, primarily in specialized deployments.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Multiple stable kernel versions prior to fixes in 2b952dbb32fef835756f07ff0cd77efbb836dfea and related commits

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using vulnerable kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No

Notes: Only vulnerable if ROSE protocol (CONFIG_ROSE) is compiled into kernel and being used. Most standard distributions don't enable ROSE by default.

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

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The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Kernel panic leading to system crash or potential arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges, resulting in complete system compromise.

🟠

Likely Case

System instability, kernel crashes, or denial of service when ROSE network interfaces go down.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if ROSE protocol is not used or properly isolated from untrusted networks.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - ROSE protocol is specialized amateur radio networking not typically exposed to internet.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Could be exploited by attackers with internal network access to ROSE-enabled systems.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires ability to trigger rose_rt_device_down() function, likely through network manipulation of ROSE protocol.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing commits 2b952dbb32fef835756f07ff0cd77efbb836dfea and related fixes

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b952dbb32fef835756f07ff0cd77efbb836dfea

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version from your distribution vendor. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify kernel version after reboot.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable ROSE protocol

linux

Remove or disable ROSE protocol module if not needed

rmmod rose
echo 'blacklist rose' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

Network isolation

linux

Isolate ROSE network interfaces from untrusted networks

iptables -A INPUT -i rose0 -j DROP
ip link set rose0 down

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Disable ROSE protocol completely if not required for operations
Implement strict network segmentation to isolate ROSE-enabled systems

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if ROSE module is loaded: lsmod | grep rose && check kernel version against patched versions

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is updated and ROSE module version matches patched kernel

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel panic logs
Use-after-free kernel messages
ROSE protocol errors in system logs

Network Indicators:

Unusual ROSE protocol traffic patterns
Multiple ROSE interface state changes

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("use-after-free" OR "ROSE" OR "rose_rt_device_down")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-38377

CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-416

EPSS Score: 0.01% exploit probability (2.4th percentile)

Published: July 25, 2025

Last Updated: December 18, 2025

🔗 References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2b952dbb32fef835756f07ff0cd77efbb836dfea Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c6c82ee074bfcfd1bc978ec45bfea37703d840a Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/34a500caf48c47d5171f4aa1f237da39b07c6157 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/446ac00b86be1670838e513b643933d78837d8db Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a1841c9609377e989ec41c16551309ce79c39e4 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/94e0918e39039c47ddceb609500817f7266be756 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6b232e16e08c6dc120672b4753392df0d28c1b4 Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fe62a35fb1f77f494ed534fc69a9043dc5a30ce1 Patch
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html Third Party Advisory,Mailing List
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html Third Party Advisory,Mailing List