# CVE-2025-38139: netfs: Fix oops in write-retry from mis-resetting the subreq iterator

> A memory corruption flaw in the Linux kernel netfs subsystem allows local attackers to cause a system crash via a slab-out-of-bounds read during write retries.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38139, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38139, GHSA-fm2c-q6px-5rp9, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38139

## What is CVE-2025-38139?

CVE-2025-38139 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Jul 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

netfs: Fix oops in write-retry from mis-resetting the subreq iterator

Fix the resetting of the subrequest iterator in netfs_retry_write_stream()
to use the iterator-reset function as the iterator may have been shortened
by a previous retry.  In such a case, the amount of data to be written by
the subrequest is not "subreq->len" but "subreq->len -
subreq->transferred".

Without this, KASAN may see an error in iov_iter_revert():

   BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in iov_iter_revert lib/iov_iter.c:633 [inline]
   BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in iov_iter_revert+0x443/0x5a0 lib/iov_iter.c:611
   Read of size 4 at addr ffff88802912a0b8 by task kworker/u32:7/1147

   CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1147 Comm: kworker/u32:7 Not tainted 6.15.0-rc6-syzkaller-00052-g9f35e33144ae #0 PREEMPT(full)
   Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2~bpo12+1 04/01/2014
   Workqueue: events_unbound netfs_write_collection_worker
   Call Trace:
    <TASK>
    __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline]
    dump_stack_lvl+0x116/0x1f0 lib/dump_stack.c:120
    print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:408 [inline]
    print_report+0xc3/0x670 mm/kasan/report.c:521
    kasan_report+0xe0/0x110 mm/kasan/report.c:634
    iov_iter_revert lib/iov_iter.c:633 [inline]
    iov_iter_revert+0x443/0x5a0 lib/iov_iter.c:611
    netfs_retry_write_stream fs/netfs/write_retry.c:44 [inline]
    netfs_retry_writes+0x166d/0x1a50 fs/netfs/write_retry.c:231
    netfs_collect_write_results fs/netfs/write_collect.c:352 [inline]
    netfs_write_collection_worker+0x23fd/0x3830 fs/netfs/write_collect.c:374
    process_one_work+0x9cf/0x1b70 kernel/workqueue.c:3238
    process_scheduled_works kernel/workqueue.c:3319 [inline]
    worker_thread+0x6c8/0xf10 kernel/workqueue.c:3400
    kthread+0x3c2/0x780 kernel/kthread.c:464
    ret_from_fork+0x45/0x80 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:153
    ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:245
    </TASK>

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38139?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38139?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38139 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38139 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-38139 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38139 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 3 Jul 2025. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38139 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38139/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38139/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38139
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38139
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38139

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38139/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.