net/mdiobus: Fix potential out-of-bounds read/write access
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mdiobus: Fix potential out-of-bounds read/write access When using publicly available tools like 'mdio-tools' to read/write data from/to network interface and its PHY via mdiobus, there is no verification of parameters passed to the ioctl and it accepts any mdio address. Currently there is support for 32 addresses in kernel via PHY_MAX_ADDR define, but it is possible to pass higher value than that via ioctl. While read/write operation should generally fail in this case, mdiobus provides stats array, where wrong address may allow out-of-bounds read/write. Fix that by adding address verification before read/write operation. While this excludes this access from any statistics, it improves security of read/write operation.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
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 | 5.6 and later | 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3, 6.16 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.6 and later Fixed in 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3, 6.16 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.6 to before 5.10.239; 5.11 to before 5.15.186; 5.16 to before 6.1.142; 6.2 to before 6.6.94; 6.7 to before 6.12.34; 6.13 to before 6.15.3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.16 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 11.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.6 to before 5.10.239; 5.11 to before 5.15.186; 5.16 to before 6.1.142; 6.2 to before 6.6.94; 6.7 to before 6.12.34; 6.13 to before 6.15.3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.16 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 11.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.239, 5.15.186, 6.1.142, 6.6.94, 6.12.34, 6.15.3, 6.16
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. 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 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-38111
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vhm6-v69m-pxx6
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/19c5875e26c4ed5686d82a7d8f7051385461b9eb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/014ad9210373d2104f6ef10e6bb999a7a0a4c50e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/73d478234a619f3476028cb02dee699c30ae8262
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bab6bca0834cbb5be2a7cfe59ec6ad016ec72608
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b02d9d2732483e670bc34cb233d28e1d43b15da4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/049af7ac45a6b407748ee0995278fd861e36df8f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0e629694126ca388916f059453a1c36adde219c4
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-2025-38111 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-38111 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vhm6-v69m-pxx6 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-38111 · 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