CVE-2025-38659: linux kernel Null Dereference — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gfs2: No more self recovery When a node withdraws and it turns out that it is the only node that has the filesystem mounted, gfs2 currently tries to replay the local journal to bring the filesystem back into a consistent state. Not only is that a very bad idea, it has also never worked because gfs2_recover_func() will refuse to do anything during a withdraw. However, before even getting to this point, gfs2_recover_func() dereferences sdp->sd_jdesc->jd_inode. This was a use-after-free before commit 04133b607a78 ("gfs2: Prevent double iput for journal on error") and is a NULL pointer dereference since then. Simply get rid of self recovery to fix that.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	5.7 — 6.6.102
linux	linux_kernel	6.7 — 6.12.42
linux	linux_kernel	6.13 — 6.15.10
linux	linux_kernel	6.16 — 6.16.1

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1a91ba12abef628b43cada87478328274d988e88 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6784367b2f3cd7b89103de35764f37f152590dbd https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/97c94c7dbddc34d353c83b541b3decabf98d04af https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/deb016c1669002e48c431d6fd32ea1c20ef41756 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f5426ffbec971a8f7346a57392d3a901bdee5a9b

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6ebe17b359bead383581f729e43f591c1c36e159

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-38659? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gfs2: No more self recovery When a node withdraws and it turns out that it is the only node that has the filesystem mounted, gfs2 currently tries to replay the local journal to bring the filesystem back into a consistent state. Not only is that a very bad idea, it has also never worked because gfs2_recover_func() will refuse to do anything during a withdraw. However, before even getting to this point, gfs2_recover_func() dereferences sdp->sd_jdesc->jd_inode. This was a use-after-free before commit 04133b607a78 ("gfs2: Prevent double iput for journal on error") and is a NULL pointer dereference since then. Simply get rid of self recovery to fix that. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2025-38659? +

CVE-2025-38659 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-38659? +

CVE-2025-38659 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2025-38659? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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