# CVE-2025-38675: xfrm: state: initialize state_ptrs earlier in xfrm_state_find

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's xfrm state lookup can lead to uninitialized memory usage, potentially causing a denial of service.

- **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:** 22 Aug 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-87132, BELL-CVE-2025-38675, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38675, GHSA-698j-xv88-2hj7, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-38675, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38675, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38675

## What is CVE-2025-38675?

CVE-2025-38675 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, 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:

xfrm: state: initialize state_ptrs earlier in xfrm_state_find

In case of preemption, xfrm_state_look_at will find a different
pcpu_id and look up states for that other CPU. If we matched a state
for CPU2 in the state_cache while the lookup started on CPU1, we will
jump to "found", but the "best" state that we got will be ignored and
we will enter the "acquire" block. This block uses state_ptrs, which
isn't initialized at this point.

Let's initialize state_ptrs just after taking rcu_read_lock. This will
also prevent a possible misuse in the future, if someone adjusts this
function.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38675?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38675?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38675 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38675 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-2025-38675 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38675 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Aug 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-2025-38675 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-2025-38675/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38675/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38675
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38675
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38675

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38675/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.