Vulnerability Database

352,427

Total vulnerabilities in the database

CVE-2025-38146 — linux / linux_kernel

Improper Validation of Array Index

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: openvswitch: Fix the dead loop of MPLS parse

The unexpected MPLS packet may not end with the bottom label stack. When there are many stacks, The label count value has wrapped around. A dead loop occurs, soft lockup/CPU stuck finally.

stack backtrace: UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in /build/linux-0Pa0xK/linux-5.15.0/net/openvswitch/flow.c:662:26 index -1 is out of range for type '__be32 [3]' CPU: 34 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/34 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G OE 5.15.0-121-generic #131-Ubuntu Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge C6420/0JP9TF, BIOS 2.12.2 07/14/2021 Call Trace: <IRQ> show_stack+0x52/0x5c dump_stack_lvl+0x4a/0x63 dump_stack+0x10/0x16 ubsan_epilogue+0x9/0x36 __ubsan_handle_out_of_bounds.cold+0x44/0x49 key_extract_l3l4+0x82a/0x840 [openvswitch] ? kfree_skbmem+0x52/0xa0 key_extract+0x9c/0x2b0 [openvswitch] ovs_flow_key_extract+0x124/0x350 [openvswitch] ovs_vport_receive+0x61/0xd0 [openvswitch] ? kernel_init_free_pages.part.0+0x4a/0x70 ? get_page_from_freelist+0x353/0x540 netdev_port_receive+0xc4/0x180 [openvswitch] ? netdev_port_receive+0x180/0x180 [openvswitch] netdev_frame_hook+0x1f/0x40 [openvswitch] __netif_receive_skb_core.constprop.0+0x23a/0xf00 __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0xfa/0x240 netif_receive_skb_list_internal+0x18e/0x2a0 napi_complete_done+0x7a/0x1c0 bnxt_poll+0x155/0x1c0 [bnxt_en] __napi_poll+0x30/0x180 net_rx_action+0x126/0x280 ? bnxt_msix+0x67/0x80 [bnxt_en] handle_softirqs+0xda/0x2d0 irq_exit_rcu+0x96/0xc0 common_interrupt+0x8e/0xa0 </IRQ>

  • Published: Jul 3, 2025
  • Updated: Dec 19, 2025
  • CVE: CVE-2025-38146
  • Severity: High
  • Exploit:
  • CISA KEV:

CVSS v3:

  • Severity: High
  • Score: 7.8
  • AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWEs:

Frequently Asked Questions

A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.

CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.

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Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.

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