CVE-2025-38352Known exploitationPublic exploit

Local privilege escalation via CPU-timer race

Published Jul 22, 2025 · Updated Sep 8, 2026

A race condition in Linux POSIX CPU timers allows local users to gain kernel privileges or crash the system through local syscalls. After an exiting non-autoreaping task passes exit_notify(), concurrent reaping and timer deletion can evade the firing-state check and leave a freed sigqueue linked for later kernel access. Exploitation requires local code execution and a kernel without CONFIG_POSIX_CPU_TIMERS_TASK_WORK; the use-after-free supports kernel memory disclosure, writes, and panic.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability1.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A race condition in Linux POSIX CPU timers allows local users to gain kernel privileges or crash the system through local syscalls. After an exiting non-autoreaping task passes exit_notify(), concurrent reaping and timer deletion can evade the firing-state check and leave a freed sigqueue linked for later kernel access. Exploitation requires local code execution and a kernel without CONFIG_POSIX_CPU_TIMERS_TASK_WORK; the use-after-free supports kernel memory disclosure, writes, and panic.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38352
Published
Jul 22, 2025
Updated
Sep 8, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-367, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 22, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 8, 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=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <2c72fe18cc5f9f1750f5bc148cf1c94c29e106ff
  2. Affected versionversion=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <2f3daa04a9328220de46f0d5c919a6c0073a9f0b
  3. Affected versionversion=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <460188bc042a3f40f72d34b9f7fc6ee66b0b757b
  4. Affected versionversion=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <764a7a5dfda23f69919441f2eac2a83e7db6e5bb
  5. Affected versionversion=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <78a4b8e3795b31dae58762bc091bb0f4f74a2200
  6. Affected versionversion=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <c076635b3a42771ace7d276de8dc3bc76ee2ba1b
  7. Affected versionversion=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <c29d5318708e67ac13c1b6fc1007d179fb65b4d7
  8. Affected versionversion=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <f90fff1e152dedf52b932240ebbd670d83330eca
  9. Affected versionversion=2.6.36

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <2c72fe18cc5f9f1750f5bc148cf1c94c29e106ff; version=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <2f3daa04a9328220de46f0d5c919a6c0073a9f0b; version=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <460188bc042a3f40f72d34b9f7fc6ee66b0b757b; version=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <764a7a5dfda23f69919441f2eac2a83e7db6e5bb; version=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <78a4b8e3795b31dae58762bc091bb0f4f74a2200; version=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <c076635b3a42771ace7d276de8dc3bc76ee2ba1b; version=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <c29d5318708e67ac13c1b6fc1007d179fb65b4d7; version=0bdd2ed4138ec04e09b4f8165981efc99e439f55 <f90fff1e152dedf52b932240ebbd670d83330eca; version=2.6.36

Published CVSS scores

7.4National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8Linux CNACVSS: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 exploitationReported
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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