VulnerabilityPublished 10 Jul 2025Updated 5 Nov 2026

CVE-2025-38282: Linux kernel · kernfs: Relax constraint in draining guard

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · fixed in 72275c888f8962b406ee9c6885c79bf68cca5a63 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 21:19 UTC

Severity

Unrated

Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

Exploitation: No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable: Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact: Limited control over the software or limited information exposure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-11-05.

Patch

Available – fixed in 72275c888f8962b406ee9c6885c79bf68cca5a63, 071d8e4c2a3b0999a9b822e2eb8854784a350f8a, 6c81f1c7812c61f187bed1b938f1d2e391d503ab +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Jul 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ bdb2fd7fc56e197a63c0b0e7e07d25d5e20e7c72, < 72275c888f8962b406ee9c6885c79bf68cca5a63	Fixed in 72275c888f8962b406ee9c6885c79bf68cca5a63
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ bdb2fd7fc56e197a63c0b0e7e07d25d5e20e7c72, < 071d8e4c2a3b0999a9b822e2eb8854784a350f8a	Fixed in 071d8e4c2a3b0999a9b822e2eb8854784a350f8a
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ bdb2fd7fc56e197a63c0b0e7e07d25d5e20e7c72, < 6c81f1c7812c61f187bed1b938f1d2e391d503ab	Fixed in 6c81f1c7812c61f187bed1b938f1d2e391d503ab
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ bdb2fd7fc56e197a63c0b0e7e07d25d5e20e7c72, < 6bfb154f95d5f0ab7ed056f23aba8c1a94cb3927	Fixed in 6bfb154f95d5f0ab7ed056f23aba8c1a94cb3927
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ bdb2fd7fc56e197a63c0b0e7e07d25d5e20e7c72, < 2d6a67c2b3b87808a347dc1047b520a9dd177a4f	Fixed in 2d6a67c2b3b87808a347dc1047b520a9dd177a4f
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.1	Fixed in–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kernfs: Relax constraint in draining guard The active reference lifecycle provides the break/unbreak mechanism but the active reference is not truly active after unbreak -- callers don't use it afterwards but it's important for proper pairing of kn->active counting. Assuming this mechanism is in place, the WARN check in kernfs_should_drain_open_files() is too sensitive -- it may transiently catch those (rightful) callers between kernfs_unbreak_active_protection() and kernfs_put_active() as found out by Chen Ridong: kernfs_remove_by_name_ns kernfs_get_active // active=1 __kernfs_remove // active=0x80000002 kernfs_drain ... wait_event //waiting (active == 0x80000001) kernfs_break_active_protection // active = 0x80000001 // continue kernfs_unbreak_active_protection // active = 0x80000002 ... kernfs_should_drain_open_files // warning occurs kernfs_put_active To avoid the false positives (mind panic_on_warn) remove the check altogether. (This is meant as quick fix, I think active reference break/unbreak may be simplified with larger rework.)

References

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