CVE-2025-38185

Service interruption via invalid ATM packet length

Published Jul 4, 2025 · Updated May 11, 2026

Resource exhaustion in the Linux kernel from 2.6.12 allows local users to interrupt service via undersized ATM TCP messages. The atmtcp_c_send() path treats skb->data as an atmtcp_hdr after rejecting only zero-length buffers, while zero-length sends leave the buffer and socket write-memory accounting unreleased. A low-privileged local user must reach an ATM TCP virtual circuit; repeated malformed sends can exhaust kernel memory and interrupt service.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Resource exhaustion in the Linux kernel from 2.6.12 allows local users to interrupt service via undersized ATM TCP messages. The atmtcp_c_send() path treats skb->data as an atmtcp_hdr after rejecting only zero-length buffers, while zero-length sends leave the buffer and socket write-memory accounting unreleased. A low-privileged local user must reach an ATM TCP virtual circuit; repeated malformed sends can exhaust kernel memory and interrupt service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38185
Published
Jul 4, 2025
Updated
May 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 4, 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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1b0ad18704913c92a3ad53748fbc0f219a75b876
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <2f370ae1fb6317985f3497b1bb80d457508ca2f7
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <3261c017a7c5d2815c6a388c5a3280d1fba0e8db
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a4b0fd8c25a7583f8564af6cc910418fb8954e89
  5. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c19c0943424b412a84fdf178e6c71fe5480e4f0f
  6. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c9260c837de1d2b454960a4a2e44a81272fbcd22
  7. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ca00f0e6d733ecd9150716d1fd0138d26e674706
  8. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <e996507f59610e5752b8702537f13f551e7a2c96
  9. Affected versionversion=2.6.12

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1b0ad18704913c92a3ad53748fbc0f219a75b876; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <2f370ae1fb6317985f3497b1bb80d457508ca2f7; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <3261c017a7c5d2815c6a388c5a3280d1fba0e8db; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <a4b0fd8c25a7583f8564af6cc910418fb8954e89; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c19c0943424b412a84fdf178e6c71fe5480e4f0f; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c9260c837de1d2b454960a4a2e44a81272fbcd22; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ca00f0e6d733ecd9150716d1fd0138d26e674706; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <e996507f59610e5752b8702537f13f551e7a2c96; version=2.6.12

Published CVSS scores

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

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-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo