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NVD / CVE Program· CNA Linux

CVE-2025-38161: RDMA/mlx5: Fix error flow upon firmware failure for RQ destruction

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.19% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: Linux Linux 0a7790cbba654e925243571cf2f24d61603d3ed3, 26d2f662d3a6655a82fd8a287e8b1ce471567f36, 50ac361ff8914133e3cf6ef184bac90c22cb8d79; azl3 kernel 6.6.92.2-2 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.96.1-1; azl3 kernel 6.6.96.1-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.96.1-1.
  • Severity is disputed: the assigning authority (CNA) scores it 7.8, NVD 5.5.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 0a7790cbba654e925243571cf2f24d61603d3ed3, 26d2f662d3a6655a82fd8a287e8b1ce471567f36, 50ac361ff8914133e3cf6ef184bac90c22cb8d79; azl3 kernel 6.6.92.2-2 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.96.1-1; azl3 kernel 6.6.96.1-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.96.1-1 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/mlx5: Fix error flow upon firmware failure for RQ destruction Upon RQ destruction if the firmware command fails which is the last resource to be destroyed some SW resources were already cleaned regardless of the failure. Now properly rollback the object to its original state upon such failure. In order to avoid a use-after free in case someone tries to destroy the object again, which results in the following kernel trace: refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 37589 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x148 Modules linked in: rdma_ucm(OE) rdma_cm(OE) iw_cm(OE) ib_ipoib(OE) ib_cm(OE) ib_umad(OE) mlx5_ib(OE) rfkill mlx5_core(OE) mlxdevm(OE) ib_uverbs(OE) ib_core(OE) psample mlxfw(OE) mlx_compat(OE) macsec tls pci_hyperv_intf sunrpc vfat fat virtio_net net_failover failover fuse loop nfnetlink vsock_loopback vmw_vsock_virtio_transport_common vmw_vsock_vmci_transport vmw_vmci vsock xfs crct10dif_ce ghash_ce sha2_ce sha256_arm64 sha1_ce virtio_console virtio_gpu virtio_blk virtio_dma_buf virtio_mmio dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log dm_mod xpmem(OE) CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 37589 Comm: python3 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G OE ------- --- 6.12.0-54.el10.aarch64 #1 Tainted: [O]=OOT_MODULE, [E]=UNSIGNED_MODULE Hardware name: QEMU KVM Virtual Machine, BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015 pstate: 60400005 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x148 lr : refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x148 sp : ffff80008b81b7e0 x29: ffff80008b81b7e0 x28: ffff000133d51600 x27: 0000000000000001 x26: 0000000000000000 x25: 00000000ffffffea x24: ffff00010ae80f00 x23: ffff00010ae80f80 x22: ffff0000c66e5d08 x21: 0000000000000000 x20: ffff0000c66e0000 x19: ffff00010ae80340 x18: 0000000000000006 x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000020 x15: ffff80008b81b37f x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 2e656572662d7265 x12: ffff80008283ef78 x11: ffff80008257efd0 x10: ffff80008283efd0 x9 : ffff80008021ed90 x8 : 0000000000000001 x7 : 00000000000bffe8 x6 : c0000000ffff7fff x5 : ffff0001fb8e3408 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : ffff800179993000 x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : ffff000133d51600 Call trace: refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x148 mlx5_core_put_rsc+0x88/0xa0 [mlx5_ib] mlx5_core_destroy_rq_tracked+0x64/0x98 [mlx5_ib] mlx5_ib_destroy_wq+0x34/0x80 [mlx5_ib] ib_destroy_wq_user+0x30/0xc0 [ib_core] uverbs_free_wq+0x28/0x58 [ib_uverbs] destroy_hw_idr_uobject+0x34/0x78 [ib_uverbs] uverbs_destroy_uobject+0x48/0x240 [ib_uverbs] __uverbs_cleanup_ufile+0xd4/0x1a8 [ib_uverbs] uverbs_destroy_ufile_hw+0x48/0x120 [ib_uverbs] ib_uverbs_close+0x2c/0x100 [ib_uverbs] __fput+0xd8/0x2f0 __fput_sync+0x50/0x70 __arm64_sys_close+0x40/0x90 invoke_syscall.constprop.0+0x74/0xd0 do_el0_svc+0x48/0xe8 el0_svc+0x44/0x1d0 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x120/0x130 el0t_64_sync+0x1a4/0x1a8

Published
Jul 3, 2025
Updated
Oct 15, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 9th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
5.5
CNA · Linux
7.8
2.3 point gap

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2025-38161

When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
linuxlinux kernel
debiandebian linux

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Linux Linux

    • 4.5affected
    • e2013b212f9f201c71fc5826ce41f39ebece0852 and later · before 26d2f662d3a6655a82fd8a287e8b1ce471567f36affected · git
    • e2013b212f9f201c71fc5826ce41f39ebece0852 and later · before f9784da76ad7be66230e829e743bdf68a2c49e56affected · git
    • e2013b212f9f201c71fc5826ce41f39ebece0852 and later · before cf32affe6f3801cfb72a65e69c4bc7a8ee9be100affected · git
    • e2013b212f9f201c71fc5826ce41f39ebece0852 and later · before 7c4c84cdcc19e89d42f6bf117238e5471173423eaffected · git
    • e2013b212f9f201c71fc5826ce41f39ebece0852 and later · before 50ac361ff8914133e3cf6ef184bac90c22cb8d79affected · git
    • e2013b212f9f201c71fc5826ce41f39ebece0852 and later · before 0a7790cbba654e925243571cf2f24d61603d3ed3affected · git
    • e2013b212f9f201c71fc5826ce41f39ebece0852 and later · before 5d2ea5aebbb2f3ebde4403f9c55b2b057e5dd2d6affected · git
    • before 4.5not affected · semver
    • 5.10.239 and later · up to and including 5.10.*not affected · semver
Affected versions · NVD (7)

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • debian debian linux11.0
  • linux linux kernel5.11 and later · before 5.15.186
  • linux linux kernel5.16 and later · before 6.1.142
  • linux linux kernel4.5 and later · before 5.10.239
  • linux linux kernel6.7 and later · before 6.12.34
  • linux linux kernel6.13 and later · before 6.15.3
  • linux linux kernel6.2 and later · before 6.6.94

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Debian:12linuxbefore 6.1.147-16.1.147-1
Debian:13linuxbefore 6.12.35-16.12.35-1

Same product

linux: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV
    90Now
  • CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe…KEV
    89Now
  • CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV
    85Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2025-38157Jul 3, 2025 · wifi: ath9k_htc: Abort software beacon handling if disabled
    31Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2025-38159Jul 3, 2025 · wifi: rtw88: fix the 'para' buffer size to avoid reading out of bounds
    28Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2025-38162Jul 3, 2025 · netfilter: nft_set_pipapo: prevent overflow in lookup table allocation
    22Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Linux Linux0a7790cbba654e925243571cf2f24d61603d3ed3Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux26d2f662d3a6655a82fd8a287e8b1ce471567f36Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux50ac361ff8914133e3cf6ef184bac90c22cb8d79Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux5d2ea5aebbb2f3ebde4403f9c55b2b057e5dd2d6Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linux7c4c84cdcc19e89d42f6bf117238e5471173423eVendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxcf32affe6f3801cfb72a65e69c4bc7a8ee9be100Vendor (CNA)
Linux Linuxf9784da76ad7be66230e829e743bdf68a2c49e56Vendor (CNA)
azl3 kernel 6.6.92.2-2 on Azure Linux 3.06.6.96.1-1 · CBL-Mariner ReleasesMicrosoft (MSRC)
azl3 kernel 6.6.96.1-1 on Azure Linux 3.06.6.96.1-1 · CBL-Mariner ReleasesMicrosoft (MSRC)
debian:linux6.1.147-1 · Debian:12Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2026-53176357 days apartIB/isert: Reject login PDUs shorter than ISER_HEADERS_LEN
    39Monitor
  • CVE-2026-63940381 days apartKVM: SEV: Ignore Port I/O requests of length '0'
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2024-26828442 days apartcifs: fix underflow in parse_server_interfaces()
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2026-43187307 days apartxfs: delete attr leaf freemap entries when empty
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2026-53178357 days apartstaging: rtl8723bs: rtw_mlme: add bounds checks before ie_length subtraction
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2024-53061226 days apartmedia: s5p-jpeg: prevent buffer overflows
    31Monitor

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · patch commit or PR link · researcher credit · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-191 · Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound)

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

References

Show all references (8 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records