CVE-2025-38377: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rose: fix dangling neighbour pointers in rose_rt_device_down() There are two bug...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rose: fix dangling neighbour pointers in rose_rt_device_down() There are two bugs in rose_rt_device_down() that can cause use-after-free: 1. The loop bound `t->count` is modified within the loop, which can cause the loop to terminate early and miss some entries. 2. When removing an entry from the neighbour array, the subsequent entries are moved up to fill the gap, but the loop index `i` is still incremented, causing the next entry to be skipped. For example, if a node has three neighbours (A, A, B) with count=3 and A is being removed, the second A is not checked. i=0: (A, A, B) -> (A, B) with count=2 ^ checked i=1: (A, B) -> (A, B) with count=2 ^ checked (B, not A!) i=2: (doesn't occur because i < count is false) This leaves the second A in the array with count=2, but the rose_neigh structure has been freed. Code that accesses these entries assumes that the first `count` entries are valid pointers, causing a use-after-free when it accesses the dangling pointer. Fix both issues by iterating over the array in reverse order with a fixed loop bound. This ensures that all entries are examined and that the removal of an entry doesn't affect subsequent iterations.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

7.8/10

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

EPSS Probability

0.16%

5.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-416

Affected Software

Vendor	Product	Versions	Update
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 2.6.13, < 5.4.296	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.5, < 5.10.240	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.11, < 5.15.187	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 5.16, < 6.1.144	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.2, < 6.6.97	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.7, < 6.12.37	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	>= 6.13, < 6.15.6	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	2.6.12	—
Linux	Linux Kernel	6.16	Rc1
Debian	Debian Linux	11.0	—

References

Timeline

Published: Jul 25, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-38377?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: rose: fix dangling neighbour pointers in rose_rt_device_down() There are two bugs in rose_rt_device_down() that can cause use-after-free: 1. The loop bound `t->count` is modified within the loop, which can cause the loop to terminate early and miss some entries. 2. When removing an entry from the neighbour array, the subsequent entries are moved up to fill the gap, but the loop index `i` is still incremented, causing the next entry to be skipped. For example, if a node has three neighbours (A, A, B) with count=3 and A is being removed, the second A is not checked. i=0: (A, A, B) -> (A, B) with count=2 ^ checked i=1: (A, B) -> (A, B) with count=2 ^ checked (B, not A!) i=2: (doesn't occur because i < count is false) This leaves the second A in the array with count=2, but the rose_neigh structure has been freed. Code that accesses these entries assumes that the first `count` entries are valid pointers, causing a use-after-free when it accesses the dangling pointer. Fix both issues by iterating over the array in reverse order with a fixed loop bound. This ensures that all entries are examined and that the removal of an entry doesn't affect subsequent iterations.

How severe is CVE-2025-38377?

CVE-2025-38377 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.16% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2025-38377?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.