CVE-2025-38068

Local privilege escalation via unchecked LZO output writes

Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

An out-of-bounds write in Linux kernel LZO compression allows local users to corrupt kernel memory by forcing compression of incompressible data. The crypto/lzo compression path disregards the caller-supplied output length and writes encoded sequences without checking the buffer end. Local account access and an enabled LZO consumer such as zswap, zram, or UBIFS are required; successful triggering can crash the kernel or enable privilege escalation.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

An out-of-bounds write in Linux kernel LZO compression allows local users to corrupt kernel memory by forcing compression of incompressible data. The crypto/lzo compression path disregards the caller-supplied output length and writes encoded sequences without checking the buffer end. Local account access and an enabled LZO consumer such as zswap, zram, or UBIFS are required; successful triggering can crash the kernel or enable privilege escalation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38068
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 18, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 5, 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=2.6.23
  2. Affected versionversion=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <0acdc4d6e679ba31d01e3e7e2e4124b76d6d8e2a
  3. Affected versionversion=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <167373d77c70c2b558aae3e327b115249bb2652c
  4. Affected versionversion=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <4b173bb2c4665c23f8fcf5241c7b06dfa6b5b111
  5. Affected versionversion=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <7caad075acb634a74911830d6386c50ea12566cd
  6. Affected versionversion=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <a98bd864e16f91c70b2469adf013d713d04d1d13
  7. Affected versionversion=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <cc47f07234f72cbd8e2c973cdbf2a6730660a463

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.23; version=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <0acdc4d6e679ba31d01e3e7e2e4124b76d6d8e2a; version=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <167373d77c70c2b558aae3e327b115249bb2652c; version=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <4b173bb2c4665c23f8fcf5241c7b06dfa6b5b111; version=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <7caad075acb634a74911830d6386c50ea12566cd; version=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <a98bd864e16f91c70b2469adf013d713d04d1d13; version=64c70b1cf43de158282bc1675918d503e5b15cc1 <cc47f07234f72cbd8e2c973cdbf2a6730660a463

Published CVSS scores

7.8LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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