Vulnary
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Critical· 9.8official fix available

CVE-2025-38737

A critical flaw in the Linux kernel’s CIFS implementation can cause a system crash due to an uninitialized variable in smb3_init_transform_rq().

publishedSep 5, 2025
last modifiedJul 30, 2026
sourcesNVD
severity · cvss
9.8
critical · how bad it is
exploitation · epss
<1%
27th 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 6.17 and earlier, used in any Linux distribution that runs those kernel versions.

02

Real-world impact

An attacker could crash the system, leading to denial of service or enabling further attacks if the crash occurs in a privileged context.

03

Why this severity

The CVSS score of 9.8 reflects the vulnerability’s ability to crash the system without authentication, with no user interaction required, and affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

04

What to do about it

official fix available
recommended steps
  1. 01Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.17 or later.
  2. 02Reboot the system to load the new kernel.

NVD-referenced vendor advisory

05

Timeline

  1. Sep 5, 2025 · Sep 5, 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 →