# CVE-2025-38202: bpf: Check rcu_read_lock_trace_held() in bpf_map_lookup_percpu_elem()

> A missing lock check in the Linux kernel BPF subsystem can cause a warning or crash when using specific BPF helpers in sleepable programs.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-64698, BELL-CVE-2025-38202, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38202, GHSA-wr55-h4jr-658c, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38202, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-38202, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38202, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38202

## What is CVE-2025-38202?

CVE-2025-38202 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 4 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

bpf: Check rcu_read_lock_trace_held() in bpf_map_lookup_percpu_elem()

bpf_map_lookup_percpu_elem() helper is also available for sleepable bpf
program. When BPF JIT is disabled or under 32-bit host,
bpf_map_lookup_percpu_elem() will not be inlined. Using it in a
sleepable bpf program will trigger the warning in
bpf_map_lookup_percpu_elem(), because the bpf program only holds
rcu_read_lock_trace lock. Therefore, add the missed check.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38202?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38202?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38202 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38202 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-38202 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38202 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 4 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38202 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2025-38202/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38202/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38202
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38202
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38202

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38202/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.