CVE-2025-38542
Last modified
CVE-2025-38542 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: appletalk: Fix device refcount leak in atrtr_create() When updating an existing route entry in atrtr_create(), the old device reference was not being released before assigning the new device, leading to a device refcount leak. Fix this by calling dev_put() to release the old device reference before holding the new one.. EPSS estimates a 0.16% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: appletalk: Fix device refcount leak in atrtr_create() When updating an existing route entry in atrtr_create(), the old device reference was not being released before assigning the new device, leading to a device refcount leak. Fix this by calling dev_put() to release the old device reference before holding the new one.
Metrics
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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, < 5.15.189 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 5.16, < 6.1.146 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 6.2, < 6.6.99 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 6.7, < 6.12.39 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 6.13, < 6.15.7 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 2.6.12 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 6.16 | Rc1 |
| Debian | Debian Linux | 11.0 | — |
References
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
Timeline
- Published
- Last Modified
- Status
- Modified
Frequently Asked Questions
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How Strix Helps
- How Strix found a critical auth bypass in etcdStrix autonomously discovered a critical authentication bypass in etcd, later designated CVE-2026-33413.
- Autonomous PentestingAI agents that find and validate exploitable vulnerabilities like this one across your applications.
- PR ReviewsPentest every pull request so vulnerable code is caught before it ships to production.
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