# CVE-2025-38720: net: hibmcge: fix rtnl deadlock issue

> A deadlock in the hibmcge network driver during PCI reset can cause a system hang, requiring a kernel patch to resolve.

- **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 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38720, GHSA-4457-8q65-98hw, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38720

## What is CVE-2025-38720?

CVE-2025-38720 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Sep 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:

net: hibmcge: fix rtnl deadlock issue

Currently, the hibmcge netdev acquires the rtnl_lock in
pci_error_handlers.reset_prepare() and releases it in
pci_error_handlers.reset_done().

However, in the PCI framework:
pci_reset_bus - __pci_reset_slot - pci_slot_save_and_disable_locked -
 pci_dev_save_and_disable - err_handler->reset_prepare(dev);

In pci_slot_save_and_disable_locked():
	list_for_each_entry(dev, &slot->bus->devices, bus_list) {
		if (!dev->slot || dev->slot!= slot)
			continue;
		pci_dev_save_and_disable(dev);
		if (dev->subordinate)
			pci_bus_save_and_disable_locked(dev->subordinate);
	}

This will iterate through all devices under the current bus and execute
err_handler->reset_prepare(), causing two devices of the hibmcge driver
to sequentially request the rtnl_lock, leading to a deadlock.

Since the driver now executes netif_device_detach()
before the reset process, it will not concurrently with
other netdev APIs, so there is no need to hold the rtnl_lock now.

Therefore, this patch removes the rtnl_lock during the reset process and
adjusts the position of HBG_NIC_STATE_RESETTING to ensure
that multiple resets are not executed concurrently.

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38720?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38720?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38720 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38720 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-2025-38720 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38720 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Sep 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-2025-38720 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-2025-38720/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38720/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38720
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38720
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38720

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38720/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.