CVE-2025-38608Network attack vector

Kernel data disclosure via stale ciphertext length

Published Aug 19, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026

Information disclosure in Linux from commit 7246d8ed4dcc allows remote attackers to receive uninitialized kernel data in TLS records. The kTLS software transmit path keeps the original ciphertext length after a BPF socket policy uses bpf_msg_pop_data() to shorten plaintext, so tls_sw.c sends bytes beyond the recalculated record. Exploitation requires kTLS traffic through that socket-policy helper; the peer receives kernel-buffer residue followed by a TLS parsing error.

CVSS severity8.6
High
EPSS probability0.40%
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

Information disclosure in Linux from commit 7246d8ed4dcc allows remote attackers to receive uninitialized kernel data in TLS records. The kTLS software transmit path keeps the original ciphertext length after a BPF socket policy uses bpf_msg_pop_data() to shorten plaintext, so tls_sw.c sends bytes beyond the recalculated record. Exploitation requires kTLS traffic through that socket-policy helper; the peer receives kernel-buffer residue followed by a TLS parsing error.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38608
Published
Aug 19, 2025
Updated
Aug 5, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 19, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.0
  2. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <0e853c1464bcf61207f8b5c32d2ac5ee495e859d
  3. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <16aca8bb4ad0d8a13c8b6da4007f4e52d53035bb
  4. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <178f6a5c8cb3b6be1602de0964cd440243f493c9
  5. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <1e480387d4b42776f8957fb148af9d75ce93b96d
  6. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <6ba20ff3cdb96a908b9dc93cf247d0b087672e7c
  7. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <73fc5d04009d3969ff8e8574f0fd769f04124e59
  8. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <849d24dc5aed45ebeb3490df429356739256ac40
  9. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <90d6ef67440cec2a0aad71a0108c8f216437345c
  10. Affected versionversion=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <ee03766d79de0f61ea29ffb6ab1c7b196ea1b02e

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.0; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <0e853c1464bcf61207f8b5c32d2ac5ee495e859d; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <16aca8bb4ad0d8a13c8b6da4007f4e52d53035bb; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <178f6a5c8cb3b6be1602de0964cd440243f493c9; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <1e480387d4b42776f8957fb148af9d75ce93b96d; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <6ba20ff3cdb96a908b9dc93cf247d0b087672e7c; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <73fc5d04009d3969ff8e8574f0fd769f04124e59; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <849d24dc5aed45ebeb3490df429356739256ac40; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <90d6ef67440cec2a0aad71a0108c8f216437345c; version=7246d8ed4dcce23f7509949a77be15fa9f0e3d28 <ee03766d79de0f61ea29ffb6ab1c7b196ea1b02e

Published CVSS scores

8.6LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L

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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

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