CVE-2025-38018: net/tls: fix kernel panic when alloc_page failed

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-06-18 · updated 2026-07-30
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/tls: fix kernel panic when alloc_page failed We cannot set frag_list to NULL pointer when alloc_page failed. It will be used in tls_strp_check_queue_ok when the next time tls_strp_read_sock is called. This is because we don't reset full_len in tls_strp_flush_anchor_copy() so the recv path will try to continue handling the partial record on the next call but we dettached the rcvq from the frag list. Alternative fix would be to reset full_len. Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000028 Call trace: tls_strp_check_rcv+0x128/0x27c tls_strp_data_ready+0x34/0x44 tls_data_ready+0x3c/0x1f0 tcp_data_ready+0x9c/0xe4 tcp_data_queue+0xf6c/0x12d0 tcp_rcv_established+0x52c/0x798

Affected products

Debian Linux: 11.0
Linux kernel: from 6.0 before 6.1.140; from 6.2 before 6.6.92; from 6.7 before 6.12.30; from 6.13 before 6.14.8; 6.15-rc1, 6.15-rc2, 6.15-rc3, 6.15-rc4, 6.15-rc5, 6.15-rc6 — fixed in 6.1.140, 6.12.30, 6.14.8, 6.6.92

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.1.140, 6.12.30, 6.14.8, 6.6.92. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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