CVE-2025-38489

Local kernel panic via NULL PLT target

Published Jul 28, 2025 · Updated May 23, 2026

Denial of service in the Linux kernel's s390 BPF JIT allows local users to trigger intermittent kernel panics through BPF text patching. bpf_jit_plt() writes a NULL new_addr into a PLT target during bpf_arch_text_poke(), so a CPU already executing the entry dereferences NULL instead of returning. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access on an s390 system and a concurrent BPF attachment transition, and the bounded consequence is a host crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.14%
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

Denial of service in the Linux kernel's s390 BPF JIT allows local users to trigger intermittent kernel panics through BPF text patching. bpf_jit_plt() writes a NULL new_addr into a PLT target during bpf_arch_text_poke(), so a CPU already executing the entry dereferences NULL instead of returning. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access on an s390 system and a concurrent BPF attachment transition, and the bounded consequence is a host crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38489
Published
Jul 28, 2025
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 28, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 23, 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=6.6.26 <6.6.100
  2. Affected versionversion=6.8.5 <6.9
  3. Affected versionversion=6.9
  4. Affected versionversion=7ded842b356d151ece8ac4985940438e6d3998bb <6a5abf8cf182f577c7ae6c62f14debc9754ec986
  5. Affected versionversion=7ded842b356d151ece8ac4985940438e6d3998bb <a4f9c7846b1ac428921ce9676b1b8c80ed60093c
  6. Affected versionversion=7ded842b356d151ece8ac4985940438e6d3998bb <d5629d1af0600f8cc7c9245e8d832a66358ef889
  7. Affected versionversion=c3062bdb859b6e2567e7f5c8cde20c0250bb130f <0c7b20f7785cfdd59403333612c90b458b12307c
  8. Affected versionversion=d3d74e45a060d218fe4b0c9174f0a77517509d8e

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.6.26 <6.6.100; version=6.8.5 <6.9; version=6.9; version=7ded842b356d151ece8ac4985940438e6d3998bb <6a5abf8cf182f577c7ae6c62f14debc9754ec986; version=7ded842b356d151ece8ac4985940438e6d3998bb <a4f9c7846b1ac428921ce9676b1b8c80ed60093c; version=7ded842b356d151ece8ac4985940438e6d3998bb <d5629d1af0600f8cc7c9245e8d832a66358ef889; version=c3062bdb859b6e2567e7f5c8cde20c0250bb130f <0c7b20f7785cfdd59403333612c90b458b12307c; version=d3d74e45a060d218fe4b0c9174f0a77517509d8e

Published CVSS scores

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-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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