tracing: Verify event formats that have "%*p.."
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing: Verify event formats that have "%*p.." The trace event verifier checks the formats of trace events to make sure that they do not point at memory that is not in the trace event itself or in data that will never be freed. If an event references data that was allocated when the event triggered and that same data is freed before the event is read, then the kernel can crash by reading freed memory. The verifier runs at boot up (or module load) and scans the print formats of the events and checks their arguments to make sure that dereferenced pointers are safe. If the format uses "%*p.." the verifier will ignore it, and that could be dangerous. Cover this case as well. Also add to the sample code a use case of "%*pbl".
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.13 and later | 6.1.136, 6.6.89, 6.12.26, 6.13.11, 6.14.2, 6.15 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.13 and later Fixed in 6.1.136, 6.6.89, 6.12.26, 6.13.11, 6.14.2, 6.15 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.136, 6.6.89, 6.12.26, 6.13.11, 6.14.2, 6.15
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-37938
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-r878-fwjf-3cg7
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6854c87ac823181c810f8c07489ba543260c0023
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d11fac941d83509be4e6a21038281d6d96da50c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03127354027508d076073b020d3070990fd6a958
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/04b80d45ecfaf780981d6582899e3ab205e4aa08
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c7204fd1758c0caf1938e8a59809a1fdf28a8114
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ea8d7647f9ddf1f81e2027ed305299797299aa03
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-37938 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-37938 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-r878-fwjf-3cg7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-37938 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences