How severe is CVE-2025-38628?

CVE-2025-38628 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2025-38628 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (4th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-38628?

CVE-2025-38628 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-2025-38628?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

Does CVE-2025-38628 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2025-38628 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-25573.

When was CVE-2025-38628 published?

CVE-2025-38628 was published on 2025-08-22 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2025-38628

CVE-2025-38628 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5. 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-908.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.5)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (4th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2025-25573
Weakness: CWE-908
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2025-08-22
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vdpa/mlx5: Fix release of uninitialized resources on error path The commit in the fixes tag made sure that mlx5_vdpa_free() is the single entrypoint for removing the vdpa device resources added in mlx5_vdpa_dev_add(), even in the cleanup path of mlx5_vdpa_dev_add(). This means that all functions from mlx5_vdpa_free() should be able to handle uninitialized resources. This was not the case though: mlx5_vdpa_destroy_mr_resources() and mlx5_cmd_cleanup_async_ctx() were not able to do so. This caused the splat below when adding a vdpa device without a MAC address. This patch fixes these remaining issues: - Makes mlx5_vdpa_destroy_mr_resources() return early if called on uninitialized resources. - Moves mlx5_cmd_init_async_ctx() early on during device addition because it can't fail. This means that mlx5_cmd_cleanup_async_ctx() also can't fail. To mirror this, move the call site of mlx5_cmd_cleanup_async_ctx() in mlx5_vdpa_free(). An additional comment was added in mlx5_vdpa_free() to document the expectations of functions called from this context. Splat: mlx5_core 0000:b5:03.2: mlx5_vdpa_dev_add:3950:(pid 2306) warning: No mac address provisioned? ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 13 PID: 2306 at kernel/workqueue.c:4207 __flush_work+0x9a/0xb0 [...] Call Trace: <TASK> ? __try_to_del_timer_sync+0x61/0x90 ? __timer_delete_sync+0x2b/0x40 mlx5_vdpa_destroy_mr_resources+0x1c/0x40 [mlx5_vdpa] mlx5_vdpa_free+0x45/0x160 [mlx5_vdpa] vdpa_release_dev+0x1e/0x50 [vdpa] device_release+0x31/0x90 kobject_cleanup+0x37/0x130 mlx5_vdpa_dev_add+0x327/0x890 [mlx5_vdpa] vdpa_nl_cmd_dev_add_set_doit+0x2c1/0x4d0 [vdpa] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xd8/0x130 genl_family_rcv_msg+0x14b/0x220 ? __pfx_vdpa_nl_cmd_dev_add_set_doit+0x10/0x10 [vdpa] genl_rcv_msg+0x47/0xa0 ? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10 netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100 genl_rcv+0x24/0x40 netlink_unicast+0x27b/0x3b0 netlink_sendmsg+0x1f7/0x430 __sys_sendto+0x1fa/0x210 ? ___pte_offset_map+0x17/0x160 ? next_uptodate_folio+0x85/0x2b0 ? percpu_counter_add_batch+0x51/0x90 ? filemap_map_pages+0x515/0x660 __x64_sys_sendto+0x20/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x7b/0x2c0 ? do_read_fault+0x108/0x220 ? do_pte_missing+0x14a/0x3e0 ? __handle_mm_fault+0x321/0x730 ? count_memcg_events+0x13f/0x180 ? handle_mm_fault+0x1fb/0x2d0 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x20c/0x700 ? syscall_exit_work+0x104/0x140 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7f0c25b0feca [...] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38628?: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vdpa/mlx5: Fix release of uninitialized resources on error path The commit in the fixes tag made sure that mlx5_vdpa_free() is the single entrypoint for removing the vdpa device resources added in mlx5_vdpa_dev_add(), even in the cleanup path of mlx5_vdpa_dev_add(). This means that all functions from mlx5_vdpa_free() should be able to handle uninitialized resources. This was not the case though: mlx5_vdpa_destroy_mr_resources() and mlx5_cmd_cleanup_async_ctx() were not able to do so. This caused the splat below when adding a vdpa device without a MAC address. This patch fixes these remaining issues: - Makes mlx5_vdpa_destroy_mr_resources() return early if called on uninitialized resources. - Moves mlx5_cmd_init_async_ctx() early on during device addition because it can't fail. This means that mlx5_cmd_cleanup_async_ctx() also can't fail. To mirror this, move the call site of mlx5_cmd_cleanup_async_ctx() in mlx5_vdpa_free(). An additional comment was added in mlx5_vdpa_free() to document the expectations of functions called from this context. Splat: mlx5_core 0000:b5:03.2: mlx5_vdpa_dev_add:3950:(pid 2306) warning: No mac address provisioned? ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 13 PID: 2306 at kernel/workqueue.c:4207 __flush_work+0x9a/0xb0 [...] Call Trace: <TASK> ? __try_to_del_timer_sync+0x61/0x90 ? __timer_delete_sync+0x2b/0x40 mlx5_vdpa_destroy_mr_resources+0x1c/0x40 [mlx5_vdpa] mlx5_vdpa_free+0x45/0x160 [mlx5_vdpa] vdpa_release_dev+0x1e/0x50 [vdpa] device_release+0x31/0x90 kobject_cleanup+0x37/0x130 mlx5_vdpa_dev_add+0x327/0x890 [mlx5_vdpa] vdpa_nl_cmd_dev_add_set_doit+0x2c1/0x4d0 [vdpa] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xd8/0x130 genl_family_rcv_msg+0x14b/0x220 ? __pfx_vdpa_nl_cmd_dev_add_set_doit+0x10/0x10 [vdpa] genl_rcv_msg+0x47/0xa0 ? __pfx_genl_rcv_msg+0x10/0x10 netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100 genl_rcv+0x24/0x40 netlink_unicast+0x27b/0x3b0 netlink_sendmsg+0x1f7/0x430 __sys_sendto+0x1fa/0x210 ? ___pte_offset_map+0x17/0x160 ? next_uptodate_folio+0x85/0x2b0 ? percpu_counter_add_batch+0x51/0x90 ? filemap_map_pages+0x515/0x660 __x64_sys_sendto+0x20/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x7b/0x2c0 ? do_read_fault+0x108/0x220 ? do_pte_missing+0x14a/0x3e0 ? __handle_mm_fault+0x321/0x730 ? count_memcg_events+0x13f/0x180 ? handle_mm_fault+0x1fb/0x2d0 ? do_user_addr_fault+0x20c/0x700 ? syscall_exit_work+0x104/0x140 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7f0c25b0feca [...] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
How severe is CVE-2025-38628?: CVE-2025-38628 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.5, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2025-38628 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (4th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-38628?: CVE-2025-38628 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-2025-38628?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
Does CVE-2025-38628 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2025-38628 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-25573.
When was CVE-2025-38628 published?: CVE-2025-38628 was published on 2025-08-22 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:6.12:-:*:*:*:*:*:*

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