Kernel panic via stale f2fs inode entry
Published Aug 19, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Use-after-free in the Linux f2fs filesystem allows local users to panic the kernel through operations on a crafted mounted filesystem. Error paths in f2fs_evict_inode omit f2fs_inode_synced, leaving a freed inode on the dirty-metadata list for later checkpoint dereference. The trigger requires local access to the mounted f2fs volume; successful exploitation interrupts the host through a kernel panic.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Linux f2fs filesystem allows local users to panic the kernel through operations on a crafted mounted filesystem. Error paths in f2fs_evict_inode omit f2fs_inode_synced, leaving a freed inode on the dirty-metadata list for later checkpoint dereference. The trigger requires local access to the mounted f2fs volume; successful exploitation interrupts the host through a kernel panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-38577
- Published
- Aug 19, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 19, 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
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <15df59809c54fbd687cdf27efbd2103a937459be
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <42f9ea16aea8b49febaa87950a006a1792209f38
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <4732ca17c17f5062426cfa982f43593e6b81963b
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <5cd99d5aa3d39086bdb53eb5c52df16e98b101a0
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <880ef748e78a1eb7df2d8e11a9ef21e98bcaabe5
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <9535e440fe5bc6c5ac7cfb407e53bf788b8bf8d4
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <97df495d754116c8c28ac6a4112f831727bde887
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <9bbfe83924946552c4c513099c0e8c83af76311a
- Affected versionversion=0f18b462b2e5aff64b8638e8a47284b907351ef3 <a509a55f8eecc8970b3980c6f06886bbff0e2f68
- Affected versionversion=4.8
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- syzbot C reproducerfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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