Kernel-memory access via TIPC namespace teardown race
Published Jul 10, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in the Linux kernel TIPC crypto path allows local users to crash the host during network namespace teardown. tipc_aead_encrypt calls get_net() after the discovery timer races with cleanup of a network namespace whose reference count has reached zero. Local users can reach the TIPC operations through CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user-owned network namespace; freed kernel objects permit memory reads, writes, or a panic.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Linux kernel TIPC crypto path allows local users to crash the host during network namespace teardown. tipc_aead_encrypt calls get_net() after the discovery timer races with cleanup of a network namespace whose reference count has reached zero. Local users can reach the TIPC operations through CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user-owned network namespace; freed kernel objects permit memory reads, writes, or a panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-38273
- Published
- Jul 10, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 10, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=4a0fddc2c0d5c28aec8c262ad4603be0bef1938c
- Affected versionversion=5.10.238 <5.10.239
- Affected versionversion=5.15.185 <5.15.186
- Affected versionversion=6.1.141 <6.1.142
- Affected versionversion=6.12.31 <6.12.34
- Affected versionversion=6.14.9 <6.15
- Affected versionversion=6.15
- Affected versionversion=6.6.93 <6.6.94
- Affected versionversion=689a205cd968a1572ab561b0c4c2d50a10e9d3b0 <c762fc79d710d676b793f9d98b1414efe6eb51e6
- Affected versionversion=b19fc1d0be3c3397e5968fe2627f22e7f84673b1 <acab7ca5ff19889b80a8ee7dec220ee1a96dede9
- Affected versionversion=b8fcae6d2e93c54cacb8f579a77d827c1c643eb5 <307391e8fe70401a6d39ecc9978e13c2c0cdf81f
- Affected versionversion=d42ed4de6aba232d946d20653a70f79158a6535b <445d59025d76d0638b03110f8791d5b89ed5162d
- Affected versionversion=e279024617134c94fd3e37470156534d5f2b3472 <9ff60e0d9974dccf24e89bcd3ee7933e538d929f
- Affected versionversion=e279024617134c94fd3e37470156534d5f2b3472 <f29ccaa07cf3d35990f4d25028cc55470d29372b
- Affected versionversion=f5c2c4eaaa5a8e7e0685ec031d480e588e263e59 <e0b11227c4e8eb4bdf1b86aa8f0f3abb24e0f029
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- syzbot C reproducer for TIPC refcount warningproof of concept · demonstrated
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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