# CVE-2025-38466: perf: Revert to requiring CAP_SYS_ADMIN for uprobes

> Attackers can exploit uprobes to corrupt memory or crash the system by targeting invalid instruction boundaries, requiring CAP_SYS_ADMIN privileges.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 25 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-65699, AZL-72959, BELL-CVE-2025-38466, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38466, GHSA-fr3c-c44p-6638, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-38466, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38466, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-38466, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38466, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38466

## What is CVE-2025-38466?

CVE-2025-38466 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 25 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:

perf: Revert to requiring CAP_SYS_ADMIN for uprobes

Jann reports that uprobes can be used destructively when used in the
middle of an instruction. The kernel only verifies there is a valid
instruction at the requested offset, but due to variable instruction
length cannot determine if this is an instruction as seen by the
intended execution stream.

Additionally, Mark Rutland notes that on architectures that mix data
in the text segment (like arm64), a similar things can be done if the
data word is 'mistaken' for an instruction.

As such, require CAP_SYS_ADMIN for uprobes.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38466?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38466?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38466 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38466 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [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-2025-38466 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38466 is a high-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 25 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-2025-38466 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-2025-38466/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38466/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38466
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38466
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38466

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38466/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.