CVE-2025-38173

Kernel memory exposure and panic via zero-length requests

Published Jul 3, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Memory-safety failure in the Marvell CESA skcipher driver allows local users to expose stale data or panic affected Linux kernels. The mv_cesa_skcipher_queue_req function forwards a request with cryptlen set to zero into driver initialization instead of treating it as a no-op. An unprivileged AF_ALG caller can trigger the path only on a host using the CESA driver; non-TDMA hardware can return stale crypto state, while TDMA hardware can panic when panic_on_warn is enabled.

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

Memory-safety failure in the Marvell CESA skcipher driver allows local users to expose stale data or panic affected Linux kernels. The mv_cesa_skcipher_queue_req function forwards a request with cryptlen set to zero into driver initialization instead of treating it as a no-op. An unprivileged AF_ALG caller can trigger the path only on a host using the CESA driver; non-TDMA hardware can return stale crypto state, while TDMA hardware can panic when panic_on_warn is enabled.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38173
Published
Jul 3, 2025
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 3, 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

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=4.2
  2. Affected versionversion=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <32d3e8049a8b60f18c5c39f5931bfb1130ac11c9
  3. Affected versionversion=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <5e9666ac8b94c978690f937d59170c5237bd2c45
  4. Affected versionversion=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <7894694b5d5b2ecfd7fb081d6f60b9e169ab4d13
  5. Affected versionversion=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <78ea1ff6cb413a03ff6f7af4e28e24b4461a0965
  6. Affected versionversion=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <8a4e047c6cc07676f637608a9dd675349b5de0a7
  7. Affected versionversion=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <c064ae2881d839709bd72d484d5f2af157f46024
  8. Affected versionversion=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <c9610dda42bd382a96f97e68825cb5f66cd9e1dc
  9. Affected versionversion=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <e1cc69da619588b1488689fe3535a0ba75a2b0e7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.2; version=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <32d3e8049a8b60f18c5c39f5931bfb1130ac11c9; version=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <5e9666ac8b94c978690f937d59170c5237bd2c45; version=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <7894694b5d5b2ecfd7fb081d6f60b9e169ab4d13; version=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <78ea1ff6cb413a03ff6f7af4e28e24b4461a0965; version=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <8a4e047c6cc07676f637608a9dd675349b5de0a7; version=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <c064ae2881d839709bd72d484d5f2af157f46024; version=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <c9610dda42bd382a96f97e68825cb5f66cd9e1dc; version=f63601fd616ab370774fa00ea10bcaaa9e48e84c <e1cc69da619588b1488689fe3535a0ba75a2b0e7

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.

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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

No sourced classifications are available.

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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