CVE-2025-38077

Kernel buffer overflow via empty password write

Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Out-of-bounds access in the Linux dell-wmi-sysman driver allows local users to trigger a kernel buffer overflow via an empty password write. current_password_store() calculates a zero length, then evaluates buf[length - 1] before checking whether the user-supplied buffer is empty. Reachability requires local access to the driver's write-only current_password sysfs attribute on a system exposing Dell WMI firmware management.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds access in the Linux dell-wmi-sysman driver allows local users to trigger a kernel buffer overflow via an empty password write. current_password_store() calculates a zero length, then evaluates buf[length - 1] before checking whether the user-supplied buffer is empty. Reachability requires local access to the driver's write-only current_password sysfs attribute on a system exposing Dell WMI firmware management.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38077
Published
Jun 18, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-787, T1068
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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=5.11
  2. Affected versionversion=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <4e89a4077490f52cde652d17e32519b666abf3a6
  3. Affected versionversion=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <60bd13f8c4b3de2c910ae1cdbef85b9bbc9685f5
  4. Affected versionversion=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <8594a123cfa23d708582dc6fb36da34479ef8a5b
  5. Affected versionversion=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <97066373ffd55bd9af0b512ff3dd1f647620a3dc
  6. Affected versionversion=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <f86465626917df3b8bdd2756ec0cc9d179c5af0f
  7. Affected versionversion=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <fb7cde625872709b8cedad9b241e0ec3d82fa7d3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.11; version=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <4e89a4077490f52cde652d17e32519b666abf3a6; version=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <60bd13f8c4b3de2c910ae1cdbef85b9bbc9685f5; version=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <8594a123cfa23d708582dc6fb36da34479ef8a5b; version=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <97066373ffd55bd9af0b512ff3dd1f647620a3dc; version=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <f86465626917df3b8bdd2756ec0cc9d179c5af0f; version=e8a60aa7404bfef37705da5607c97737073ac38d <fb7cde625872709b8cedad9b241e0ec3d82fa7d3

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS: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

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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