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CVE Record

CVE-2025-38590: net/mlx5e: Remove skb secpath if xfrm state is not found

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5e: Remove skb secpath if xfrm state is not found Hardware returns a unique identifier for a decrypted packet's xfrm state, this state is looked up in an xarray. However, the state might have been freed by the time of this lookup. Currently, if the state is not found, only a counter is incremented. The secpath (sp) extension on the skb is not removed, resulting in sp->len becoming 0. Subsequently, functions like __xfrm_policy_check() attempt to access fields such as xfrm_input_state(skb)->xso.type (which dereferences sp->xvec[sp->len - 1]) without first validating sp->len. This leads to a crash when dereferencing an invalid state pointer. This patch prevents the crash by explicitly removing the secpath extension from the skb if the xfrm state is not found after hardware decryption. This ensures downstream functions do not operate on a zero-length secpath. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffffff000002c8 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 282e067 P4D 282e067 PUD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 12 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/12 Not tainted 6.15.0-rc7_for_upstream_min_debug_2025_05_27_22_44 #1 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__xfrm_policy_check+0x61a/0xa30 Code: b6 77 7f 83 e6 02 74 14 4d 8b af d8 00 00 00 41 0f b6 45 05 c1 e0 03 48 98 49 01 c5 41 8b 45 00 83 e8 01 48 98 49 8b 44 c5 10 <0f> b6 80 c8 02 00 00 83 e0 0c 3c 04 0f 84 0c 02 00 00 31 ff 80 fa RSP: 0018:ffff88885fb04918 EFLAGS: 00010297 RAX: ffffffff00000000 RBX: 0000000000000002 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000002 RSI: 0000000000000002 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: ffffffff8311af80 R08: 0000000000000020 R09: 00000000c2eda353 R10: ffff88812be2bbc8 R11: 000000001faab533 R12: ffff88885fb049c8 R13: ffff88812be2bbc8 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffff88811896ae00 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8888dca82000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: ffffffff000002c8 CR3: 0000000243050002 CR4: 0000000000372eb0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <IRQ> ? try_to_wake_up+0x108/0x4c0 ? udp4_lib_lookup2+0xbe/0x150 ? udp_lib_lport_inuse+0x100/0x100 ? __udp4_lib_lookup+0x2b0/0x410 __xfrm_policy_check2.constprop.0+0x11e/0x130 udp_queue_rcv_one_skb+0x1d/0x530 udp_unicast_rcv_skb+0x76/0x90 __udp4_lib_rcv+0xa64/0xe90 ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x20/0x130 ip_local_deliver_finish+0x75/0xa0 ip_local_deliver+0xc1/0xd0 ? ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x130/0x130 ip_sublist_rcv+0x1f9/0x240 ? ip_rcv_finish_core+0x430/0x430 ip_list_rcv+0xfc/0x130 __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0x181/0x1e0 netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x200/0x360 ? mlx5e_build_rx_skb+0x1bc/0xda0 [mlx5_core] gro_receive_skb+0xfd/0x210 mlx5e_handle_rx_cqe_mpwrq+0x141/0x280 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_poll_rx_cq+0xcc/0x8e0 [mlx5_core] ? mlx5e_handle_rx_dim+0x91/0xd0 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_napi_poll+0x114/0xab0 [mlx5_core] __napi_poll+0x25/0x170 net_rx_action+0x32d/0x3a0 ? mlx5_eq_comp_int+0x8d/0x280 [mlx5_core] ? notifier_call_chain+0x33/0xa0 handle_softirqs+0xda/0x250 irq_exit_rcu+0x6d/0xc0 common_interrupt+0x81/0xa0 </IRQ>

HighCVSS 7.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A Linux networking flaw can crash the kernel when an IPsec packet decrypted by mlx5e hardware references security state that was already freed. The primary business impact is loss of availability through a host outage or reboot, not disclosed data theft or modification.

Executive priority

Treat as high priority for availability-critical gateways, hosts, or appliances using mlx5e IPsec offload. Scope first because ordinary Linux systems outside that configuration may not reach the vulnerable path. Schedule a supported-kernel update promptly once affected assets and vendor fixes are confirmed.

Technical view

mlx5e can receive a hardware-decrypted packet whose XFRM state lookup fails after the state was freed. The driver left a zero-length secpath attached, allowing downstream XFRM policy code to index before the secpath array and dereference an invalid pointer. The stable fix removes the secpath when lookup fails.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using the mlx5e driver with hardware IPsec/XFRM decryption. The supplied affected-version data includes 5.9 and several 6.x releases, but does not clearly express complete vulnerable ranges. Confirm exposure through the running kernel, device configuration, and vendor backport status.

Exploitation context

The supplied CVSS is 7.5 with network reachability, low complexity, no privileges, and availability-only impact. The record is not in KEV, and the supplied sources do not document active exploitation or a public exploit. Practical triggering requirements beyond the affected mlx5e hardware-decryption path are not fully established here.

Researcher notes

This is a stale-state handling failure followed by an invalid secpath index in the XFRM policy path. The fix addresses the unsafe invariant by removing the skb secpath when hardware state lookup fails. The source bundle provides five stable commits but does not map each commit unambiguously to complete affected and fixed release ranges.

Mitigation direction

  • Update to a vendor-supported kernel containing the referenced stable fix or an equivalent backport.
  • Confirm the applicable fixed package with your Linux distribution or appliance vendor.
  • Prioritize internet-facing or availability-critical systems using mlx5e IPsec hardware offload.
  • If immediate updating is impossible, consult vendor guidance for safe feature-specific mitigations.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory systems using the mlx5e driver and IPsec hardware offload.
  • Record running kernel and distribution package versions on potentially exposed hosts.
  • Verify the vendor kernel contains one of the referenced fixes or an equivalent backport.
  • Review kernel logs for XFRM policy-check faults, page faults, or mlx5e-related crashes.
  • Retest affected encrypted traffic paths after updating without attempting production crash reproduction.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
7

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2025-38590 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.5 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
6Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.5CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6Linux

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.5High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2025-38590Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxb2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda, b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda, b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda, b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0eda, b2ac7541e3777f325c49d900550c9e3dd10c0edaunaffected
LinuxLinux5.9, 0, 6.6.102, 6.12.42, 6.15.10, 6.16.1, 6.17affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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