CVE-2025-38242
7.8 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2025-38242 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on July 9, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm: userfaultfd: fix race of userfaultfd_move and swap cache
This commit fixes two kinds of races, they may have different results:
Barry reported a BUG_ON in commit c50f8e6053b0, we may see the same
BUG_ON if the filemap lookup returned NULL and folio is added to swap
cache after that.
If another kind of race is triggered (folio changed after lookup) we
may see RSS counter is corrupted:
[ 406.893936] BUG: Bad rss-counter state mm:ffff0000c5a9ddc0
type:MM_ANONPAGES val:-1
[ 406.894071] BUG: Bad rss-counter state mm:ffff0000c5a9ddc0
type:MM_SHMEMPAGES val:1
Because the folio is being accounted to the wrong VMA.
I'm not sure if there will be any data corruption though, seems no.
The issues above are critical already.
On seeing a swap entry PTE, userfaultfd_move does a lockless swap cache
lookup, and tries to move the found folio to the faulting vma. Currently,
it relies on checking the PTE value to ensure th
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | >= 6.8, < 6.12.37 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2025-38242?
CVE-2025-38242 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on July 9, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2025-38242?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2025-38242?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2025-38242?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2025-38242 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
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