# CVE-2025-38337: jbd2: fix data-race and null-ptr-deref in jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata()

> A null pointer dereference and data race in the Linux kernel's jbd2 journaling subsystem can cause a system crash.

- **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:** 10 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-64986, BELL-CVE-2025-38337, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38337, GHSA-85w3-rwvr-2m4v, OESA-2025-1875, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-38337, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38337, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-38337, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38337, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38337

## What is CVE-2025-38337?

CVE-2025-38337 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 10 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:

jbd2: fix data-race and null-ptr-deref in jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata()

Since handle->h_transaction may be a NULL pointer, so we should change it
to call is_handle_aborted(handle) first before dereferencing it.

And the following data-race was reported in my fuzzer:

==================================================================
BUG: KCSAN: data-race in jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata / jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata

write to 0xffff888011024104 of 4 bytes by task 10881 on cpu 1:
 jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata+0x2a5/0x770 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:1556
 __ext4_handle_dirty_metadata+0xe7/0x4b0 fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.c:358
 ext4_do_update_inode fs/ext4/inode.c:5220 [inline]
 ext4_mark_iloc_dirty+0x32c/0xd50 fs/ext4/inode.c:5869
 __ext4_mark_inode_dirty+0xe1/0x450 fs/ext4/inode.c:6074
 ext4_dirty_inode+0x98/0xc0 fs/ext4/inode.c:6103
....

read to 0xffff888011024104 of 4 bytes by task 10880 on cpu 0:
 jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata+0xf2/0x770 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:1512
 __ext4_handle_dirty_metadata+0xe7/0x4b0 fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.c:358
 ext4_do_update_inode fs/ext4/inode.c:5220 [inline]
 ext4_mark_iloc_dirty+0x32c/0xd50 fs/ext4/inode.c:5869
 __ext4_mark_inode_dirty+0xe1/0x450 fs/ext4/inode.c:6074
 ext4_dirty_inode+0x98/0xc0 fs/ext4/inode.c:6103
....

value changed: 0x00000000 -> 0x00000001
==================================================================

This issue is caused by missing data-race annotation for jh->b_modified.
Therefore, the missing annotation needs to be added.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38337?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38337?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38337 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38337 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

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- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-38337 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38337 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 10 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-2025-38337 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-2025-38337/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38337/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38337
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38337
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38337

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38337/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.