Vulnary
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Critical· 9.8official fix available

CVE-2025-38411

A double decrement of a reference count in the Linux kernel’s netfs subsystem can corrupt memory, potentially crashing the system or allowing arbitrary code execution.

publishedJul 25, 2025
last modifiedJul 30, 2026
sourcesNVD
severity · cvss
9.8
critical · how bad it is
exploitation · epss
<1%
25th percentile · chance of exploitation in 30 days
(ai-assisted) A model wrote this summary from the official data, so double-check it against the source before you act on it. Read the official advisory →
auto-deletes from the system
counting…on Aug 29, 2026

An official fix is available, so this entry is kept for 30 days and then removed automatically.

01

Who is affected

Linux kernel 6.16 and earlier versions of the kernel.

02

Real-world impact

An attacker could exploit the flaw to crash the system or run malicious code with kernel privileges, affecting any system running a vulnerable kernel.

03

Why this severity

The CVSS score of 9.8 reflects that the vulnerability is exploitable over the network without authentication, with no user interaction required, and it can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

04

What to do about it

official fix available
recommended steps
  1. 01Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.16 or later, which contains the netfs double‑put fix.
  2. 02Reboot the system to load the updated kernel.

NVD-referenced vendor advisory

05

Timeline

  1. Jul 25, 2025 · Jul 25, 2025
    Published
    Disclosed and added to the National Vulnerability Database.
  2. Jul 30, 2026 · 7d ago
    Advisory updated
    The NVD record was last revised.
  3. Jul 30, 2026 · 6d ago
    Official fix available
    A vendor patch or mitigation now exists — see the remediation steps above.
06

How it’s attacked

Attack vectorNetwork (remote)
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredNone
User interactionNone needed
ScopeUnchanged
Confidentiality impactHigh
Integrity impactHigh
Availability impactHigh
07

References & advisories

NVD advisory ↗Search advisories ↗
(ai-assisted) A model wrote this summary from the official data, so double-check it against the source before you act on it. Read the official advisory →