How severe is CVE-2025-38109?

CVE-2025-38109 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2025-38109 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (6th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-38109?

CVE-2025-38109 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2025-38109?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

Does CVE-2025-38109 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2025-38109 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-19834.

When was CVE-2025-38109 published?

CVE-2025-38109 was published on 2025-07-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2025-38109

CVE-2025-38109 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-416.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (6th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2025-19834
Weakness: CWE-416
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2025-07-03
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Fix ECVF vports unload on shutdown flow Fix shutdown flow UAF when a virtual function is created on the embedded chip (ECVF) of a BlueField device. In such case the vport acl ingress table is not properly destroyed. ECVF functionality is independent of ecpf_vport_exists capability and thus functions mlx5_eswitch_(enable|disable)_pf_vf_vports() should not test it when enabling/disabling ECVF vports. kernel log: [] refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. [] WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 1 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0x124/0x220 ---------------- [] Call trace: [] refcount_warn_saturate+0x124/0x220 [] tree_put_node+0x164/0x1e0 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_destroy_flow_table+0x98/0x2c0 [mlx5_core] [] esw_acl_ingress_table_destroy+0x28/0x40 [mlx5_core] [] esw_acl_ingress_lgcy_cleanup+0x80/0xf4 [mlx5_core] [] esw_legacy_vport_acl_cleanup+0x44/0x60 [mlx5_core] [] esw_vport_cleanup+0x64/0x90 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_esw_vport_disable+0xc0/0x1d0 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_eswitch_unload_ec_vf_vports+0xcc/0x150 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_eswitch_disable_sriov+0x198/0x2a0 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_device_disable_sriov+0xb8/0x1e0 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_sriov_detach+0x40/0x50 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_unload+0x40/0xc4 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_unload_one_devl_locked+0x6c/0xe4 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_unload_one+0x3c/0x60 [mlx5_core] [] shutdown+0x7c/0xa4 [mlx5_core] [] pci_device_shutdown+0x3c/0xa0 [] device_shutdown+0x170/0x340 [] __do_sys_reboot+0x1f4/0x2a0 [] __arm64_sys_reboot+0x2c/0x40 [] invoke_syscall+0x78/0x100 [] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x54/0x184 [] do_el0_svc+0x30/0xac [] el0_svc+0x48/0x160 [] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa4/0x12c [] el0t_64_sync+0x1a4/0x1a8 [] --[ end trace 9c4601d68c70030e ]---

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38109?: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: Fix ECVF vports unload on shutdown flow Fix shutdown flow UAF when a virtual function is created on the embedded chip (ECVF) of a BlueField device. In such case the vport acl ingress table is not properly destroyed. ECVF functionality is independent of ecpf_vport_exists capability and thus functions mlx5_eswitch_(enable|disable)_pf_vf_vports() should not test it when enabling/disabling ECVF vports. kernel log: [] refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. [] WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 1 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0x124/0x220 ---------------- [] Call trace: [] refcount_warn_saturate+0x124/0x220 [] tree_put_node+0x164/0x1e0 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_destroy_flow_table+0x98/0x2c0 [mlx5_core] [] esw_acl_ingress_table_destroy+0x28/0x40 [mlx5_core] [] esw_acl_ingress_lgcy_cleanup+0x80/0xf4 [mlx5_core] [] esw_legacy_vport_acl_cleanup+0x44/0x60 [mlx5_core] [] esw_vport_cleanup+0x64/0x90 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_esw_vport_disable+0xc0/0x1d0 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_eswitch_unload_ec_vf_vports+0xcc/0x150 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_eswitch_disable_sriov+0x198/0x2a0 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_device_disable_sriov+0xb8/0x1e0 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_sriov_detach+0x40/0x50 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_unload+0x40/0xc4 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_unload_one_devl_locked+0x6c/0xe4 [mlx5_core] [] mlx5_unload_one+0x3c/0x60 [mlx5_core] [] shutdown+0x7c/0xa4 [mlx5_core] [] pci_device_shutdown+0x3c/0xa0 [] device_shutdown+0x170/0x340 [] __do_sys_reboot+0x1f4/0x2a0 [] __arm64_sys_reboot+0x2c/0x40 [] invoke_syscall+0x78/0x100 [] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x54/0x184 [] do_el0_svc+0x30/0xac [] el0_svc+0x48/0x160 [] el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa4/0x12c [] el0t_64_sync+0x1a4/0x1a8 [] --[ end trace 9c4601d68c70030e ]---
How severe is CVE-2025-38109?: CVE-2025-38109 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2025-38109 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (6th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-38109?: CVE-2025-38109 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-38109?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2025-38109 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2025-38109 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-19834.
When was CVE-2025-38109 published?: CVE-2025-38109 was published on 2025-07-03 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (2)

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*

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