Linux Kernel: NULL Pointer Dereference (CVE-2025-38192)
Published Last modified Sources: Siemens ProductCERT, Debian LTS, Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE, BSI, CVE.org, Msrc Update Guide, EUVD
What is affected, what to do
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: clear the dst when changing skb protocol A not-so-careful NAT46 BPF program can crash the kernel if it indiscriminately flips ingress packets from v4 to v6: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 ip6_rcv_core (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:190:20) ipv6_rcv (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:306:8) process_backlog (net/core/dev.c:6186:4) napi_poll (net/core/dev.c:6906:9) net_rx_action (net/core/dev.c:7028:13) do_softirq (kernel/softirq.c:462:3) netif_rx (net/core/dev.c:5326:3) dev_loopback_xmit (net/core/dev.c:4015:2) ip_mc_finish_output (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:363:8) NF_HOOK (./include/linux/netfilter.h:314:9) ip_mc_output (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:400:5) dst_output (./include/net/dst.h:459:9) ip_local_out (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:130:9) ip_send_skb (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:1496:8) udp_send_skb (net/ipv4/udp.c:1040:8) udp_sendmsg (net/ipv4/udp.c:1328:10) The output interface has a 4->6 program attached at ingress. We try to loop the multicast skb back to the sending socket.
Update Linux Kernel to version 5.15.209, Linux Kernel to version 6.1.167, Linux Kernel to version 6.6.95.
- Affected
- Linux Kernel
lt 4.8..5.15.209 - Linux Kernel
lt 5.16..6.1.167 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.2..6.6.95 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.7..6.12.35 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.13..6.15.4
- Linux Kernel
- Fixed in
- Linux Kernel
5.15.209 - Linux Kernel
6.1.167 - Linux Kernel
6.6.95 - Linux Kernel
6.12.35 - Linux Kernel
6.15.4 - Linux Kernel
6.16
- Linux Kernel
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Metrics
7.8
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3
7.8
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: Siemens ProductCERT, Debian LTS, Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE, BSI, CVE.org, Msrc Update Guide, EUVD
0.2 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 10.4
Show all metrics
- Severity
- High
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 49.57 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 7.8 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 7.8
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.2 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 10.4
- Elevated — this CVE ranks above at least 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
- CISA assessment (SSVC)
- Exploitation: none known · not automatable · Technical impact: total
- Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 15 October 2026
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: clear the dst when changing skb protocol A not-so-careful NAT46 BPF program can crash the kernel if it indiscriminately flips ingress packets from v4 to v6: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 ip6_rcv_core (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:190:20) ipv6_rcv (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:306:8) process_backlog (net/core/dev.c:6186:4) napi_poll (net/core/dev.c:6906:9) net_rx_action (net/core/dev.c:7028:13) do_softirq (kernel/softirq.c:462:3) netif_rx (net/core/dev.c:5326:3) dev_loopback_xmit (net/core/dev.c:4015:2) ip_mc_finish_output (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:363:8) NF_HOOK (./include/linux/netfilter.h:314:9) ip_mc_output (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:400:5) dst_output (./include/net/dst.h:459:9) ip_local_out (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:130:9) ip_send_skb (net/ipv4/ip_output.c:1496:8) udp_send_skb (net/ipv4/udp.c:1040:8) udp_sendmsg (net/ipv4/udp.c:1328:10) The output interface has a 4->6 program attached at ingress. We try to loop the multicast skb back to the sending socket. Ingress BPF runs as part of netif_rx(), pushes a valid v6 hdr and changes skb->protocol to v6. We enter ip6_rcv_core which tries to use skb_dst(). But the dst is still an IPv4 one left after IPv4 mcast output. Clear the dst in all BPF helpers which change the protocol. Try to preserve metadata dsts, those may carry non-routing metadata.
Source: siemens_advisory, Debian LTS Advisories, Debian Security Advisories, Ubuntu Security Notices, suse_csaf, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST), Microsoft Security Update Guide, CVE.org (MITRE), ENISA EUVD
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
|
| Siemens | SIMATIC S7 |
|
|
Vendors and products
Affected operating systems
| Linux | debian | linux | bookworm |
| Linux | debian | linux-6.1 | bullseye |
| Linux | linux | linux_kernel | 6.16 |
| Linux | linux | linux_kernel | — |
References & sources
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/a046f183d21ab5ace5a96ece4cf9873a42f003a7
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/98b1d8dc9a3170b2614f1e8c93854e75cdd83980
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/bfa4d86e130a09f67607482e988313430e38f6c4
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/2a3ad42a57b43145839f2f233fb562247658a6d9
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/e9994e7b9f7bbb882d13c8191731649249150d21
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/ba9db6f907ac02215e30128770f85fbd7db2fcf9
- Siemens ProductCERTproductcert/html/ssa-082556.html
- Siemens ProductCERTproductcert/html/ssa-019113.html
- Siemens ProductCERTproductcert/html/ssa-457936.html
- Siemens ProductCERTproductcert/html/ssa-784472.html
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Record modifiedCISA ADP
CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: no
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After SSVC assessment added —{"id":"CVE-2025-38192","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-10-15T21:48:20.544494Z"}Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Record modifiedLinux
New references:- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2a3ad42a57b43145839f2f233fb562247658a6d9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98b1d8dc9a3170b2614f1e8c93854e75cdd83980
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a046f183d21ab5ace5a96ece4cf9873a42f003a7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba9db6f907ac02215e30128770f85fbd7db2fcf9
and 2 more references
Show 16 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2a3ad42a57b43145839f2f233fb562247658a6d9Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98b1d8dc9a3170b2614f1e8c93854e75cdd83980Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a046f183d21ab5ace5a96ece4cf9873a42f003a7Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba9db6f907ac02215e30128770f85fbd7db2fcf9Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bfa4d86e130a09f67607482e988313430e38f6c4Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e9994e7b9f7bbb882d13c8191731649249150d21Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2a3ad42a57b43145839f2f233fb562247658a6d9—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98b1d8dc9a3170b2614f1e8c93854e75cdd83980—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a046f183d21ab5ace5a96ece4cf9873a42f003a7—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba9db6f907ac02215e30128770f85fbd7db2fcf9—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bfa4d86e130a09f67607482e988313430e38f6c4—Reference removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e9994e7b9f7bbb882d13c8191731649249150d21—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2a3ad42a57b43145839f2f233fb562247658a6d9 Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba9db6f907ac02215e30128770f85fbd7db2fcf9 Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bfa4d86e130a09f67607482e988313430e38f6c4 Types: Patch—Reference type removed https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e9994e7b9f7bbb882d13c8191731649249150d21 Types: Patch—Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record modifiedSiemens ADP
Show 7 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2025/38xxx/CVE-2025-38192.json">CVE-2025-38192</a>Reference added —https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.htmlReference added —https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.htmlReference added —https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-457936.htmlReference added —https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-784472.htmlReference removed https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html—Reference removed https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html—Source identifier: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
Record modifiedLinux
CVSS V3.1: AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After CVSS added —AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2025-38192"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2025-38192.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2025-38192 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>