CVE-2025-38663 nilfs2: reject invalid file types when reading inodes
A missing sanity check in the nilfs2 filesystem allows invalid inodes to cause kernel malfunctions or assertion failures, leading to denial of service.
- 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
What is CVE-2025-38663?
CVE-2025-38663 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 22 Aug 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:
nilfs2: reject invalid file types when reading inodes
To prevent inodes with invalid file types from tripping through the vfs and causing malfunctions or assertion failures, add a missing sanity check when reading an inode from a block device. If the file type is not valid, treat it as a filesystem error.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38663?
It affects 2 products.
Products include Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2025-38663?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2025-38663 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38663 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux
Sources
Also known as AZL-66626, BELL-CVE-2025-38663, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38663, GHSA-338j-4fww-h2xc, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2025-38663, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38663 and 4 more.