CVE-2025-38549: Linux kernel · Memory Leak
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium.
Data as of 13 Nov 2026, 20:07 UTC
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Aug 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 13 Nov 2026.
What to do
AI-suggested
A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel by adding a .free callback in efivarfs_context_ops to properly free allocated efivarfs_fs_info structures on error paths. Users should apply the updated kernel version containing this fix once available. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.
Description
CVE-2025-38549 addresses a memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's efivarfs filesystem. The issue occurs when the efivarfs_fs_info structure allocated during fs_context initialization is not freed if the fs_context is released before the fill_super function is called, such as on error paths. This leads to a memory leak because the ownership of the structure never transfers to the superblock, which normally handles its cleanup. The vulnerability has been fixed by implementing a .free callback in efivarfs_context_ops to ensure proper freeing of allocated memory during fs_context teardown.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38549 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/64e135f1eaba0bbb0cdee859af3328c68d5b9789 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/816d36973467d1c9c08a48bdffe4675e219a2e84 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e9fabe7036bb8be6071f39dc38605508f5f57b20 (opens in a new tab)