CVE-2025-38514

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-38514?

CVE-2025-38514 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). A race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AF_RXRPC subsystem can cause a kernel oops (crash) when service sockets are opened and bound but calls are preallocated. This affects Linux systems using the AF_RXRPC protocol, primarily those running kernel versions with the vulnerable code. The vulnerability leads to denial of service but not privilege escalation.

5.5 MEDIUM

Denial of Service

📋 TL;DR

A race condition vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AF_RXRPC subsystem can cause a kernel oops (crash) when service sockets are opened and bound but calls are preallocated. This affects Linux systems using the AF_RXRPC protocol, primarily those running kernel versions with the vulnerable code. The vulnerability leads to denial of service but not privilege escalation.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel

Versions: Specific kernel versions containing the vulnerable rxrpc code (exact versions not specified in CVE description)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems with AF_RXRPC enabled and using service sockets with preallocated calls.

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

View all CVEs affecting Debian Linux →

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 and denial of service, requiring physical or remote console access to reboot.

🟠

Likely Case

Kernel oops causing service disruption for AF_RXRPC services, potentially affecting network connectivity for dependent applications.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minor service interruption that self-recovers or requires service restart.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - AF_RXRPC is typically used for internal communication, not internet-facing services.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Systems using AF_RXRPC for internal communication could experience service disruption.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires ability to create AF_RXRPC service sockets and trigger the race condition through legitimate API usage.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions with commits 0eef29385d715d4c7fd707b18d4a9b76c76dd5e6, 2c2e9ebeb036f9b1b09325ec5cfdfe0e78f357c3, 880a88f318cf1d2a0f4c0a7ff7b07e2062b434a4, bf0ca6a1bc4fb904b598137c6718785a107e3adf, or d1ff5f9d2c5405681457262e23c720b08977c11f

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0eef29385d715d4c7fd707b18d4a9b76c76dd5e6

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 matches patched release.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable AF_RXRPC module

Linux

Prevent loading of the vulnerable AF_RXRPC kernel module if not required

echo 'install rxrpc /bin/true' >> /etc/modprobe.d/disable-rxrpc.conf
rmmod rxrpc

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Disable AF_RXRPC functionality if not required for system operation
Implement network segmentation to limit access to AF_RXRPC services

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check if AF_RXRPC is enabled and kernel version matches vulnerable range: lsmod | grep rxrpc

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version includes one of the fix commits: uname -r and check with distribution vendor

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel oops messages in /var/log/kern.log or dmesg output
AF_RXRPC service failures

Network Indicators:

Unexpected AF_RXRPC connection failures

SIEM Query:

source="kern.log" AND "Oops" AND "rxrpc"

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-38514

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

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

EPSS Score: 0.01% exploit probability (2.3th percentile)

Published: August 16, 2025

Last Updated: January 22, 2026

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

Linux Kernel by Linux

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable AF_RXRPC module

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export