iavf: get rid of the crit lock
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-667 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iavf: get rid of the crit lock Get rid of the crit lock. That frees us from the error prone logic of try_locks. Thanks to netdev_lock() by Jakub it is now easy, and in most cases we were protected by it already - replace crit lock by netdev lock when it was not the case. Lockdep reports that we should cancel the work under crit_lock [splat1], and that was the scheme we have mostly followed since [1] by Slawomir. But when that is done we still got into deadlocks [splat2]. So instead we should look at the bigger problem, namely "weird locking/scheduling" of the iavf. The first step to fix that is to remove the crit lock. I will followup with a -next series that simplifies scheduling/tasks. Cancel the work without netdev lock (weird unlock+lock scheme), to fix the [splat2] (which would be totally ugly if we would kept the crit lock). Extend protected part of iavf_watchdog_task() to include scheduling more work. Note that the removed comment in iavf_reset_task() was misplaced, it belonged to inside of the removed if condition, so it's gone now. [splat1] - w/o this patch - The deadlock during VF removal: WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected sh/3825 is trying to acquire lock: ((work_completion)(&(&adapter->watchdog_task)->work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: start_flush_work+0x1a1/0x470 but task is already holding lock: (&adapter->crit_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: iavf_remove+0xd1/0x690 [iavf] which lock already depends on the new lock. [splat2] - when cancelling work under crit lock, w/o this series, see [2] for the band aid attempt WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected sh/3550 is trying to acquire lock: ((wq_completion)iavf){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: touch_wq_lockdep_map+0x26/0x90 but task is already holding lock: (&dev->lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: iavf_remove+0xa6/0x6e0 [iavf] which lock already depends on the new lock. [1] fc2e6b3b132a ("iavf: Rework mutexes for better synchronisation") [2] https://github.com/pkitszel/linux/commit/52dddbfc2bb60294083f5711a158a
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 | 6.1.42 to before 6.2; 6.4.7 to before 6.5 | 6.2, 6.5 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.5 and later | 6.15.3, 6.16 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.1.42 to before 6.2; 6.4.7 to before 6.5 Fixed in 6.2, 6.5 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.5 and later Fixed in 6.15.3, 6.16 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.1.42 to before 6.2; 6.4.7 to before 6.5; 6.5.1 to before 6.15.3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.1.42 to before 6.2; 6.4.7 to before 6.5; 6.5.1 to before 6.15.3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.2, 6.5
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 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 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-38311
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-g72f-6g67-w739
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
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
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-38311 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-38311 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-g72f-6g67-w739 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-38311 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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