CVE-2025-38020

Kernel crash via stale MACsec offload feature

Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel allows local users to crash the system through a MACsec hardware-offload request. mlx5e_fix_uplink_rep_features leaves NETIF_F_HW_MACSEC enabled when selecting the uplink representor profile, so mlx5e_macsec_add_secy dereferences unsupported offload state. Reachability requires an mlx5 uplink representor in switchdev mode and permission to configure MACsec offload; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in the Linux kernel allows local users to crash the system through a MACsec hardware-offload request. mlx5e_fix_uplink_rep_features leaves NETIF_F_HW_MACSEC enabled when selecting the uplink representor profile, so mlx5e_macsec_add_secy dereferences unsupported offload state. Reachability requires an mlx5 uplink representor in switchdev mode and permission to configure MACsec offload; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38020
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 18, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.1
  2. Affected versionversion=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <1a69d53922c1221351739f17837d38e317234e5d
  3. Affected versionversion=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <1e577aeb51e9deba4f2c10edfcb07cb3cb406598
  4. Affected versionversion=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <1f80e6ff026041721d8089da8c269b1963628325
  5. Affected versionversion=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <588431474eb7572e57a927fa8558c9ba2f8af143
  6. Affected versionversion=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <b48a47e137cedfd79655accaeeea6b296ad0b9e1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.1; version=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <1a69d53922c1221351739f17837d38e317234e5d; version=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <1e577aeb51e9deba4f2c10edfcb07cb3cb406598; version=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <1f80e6ff026041721d8089da8c269b1963628325; version=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <588431474eb7572e57a927fa8558c9ba2f8af143; version=8ff0ac5be1446920d71bdce5547f0d8476e280ff <b48a47e137cedfd79655accaeeea6b296ad0b9e1

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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