Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: padata: do not leak refcount...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
padata: do not leak refcount in reorder_work
A recent patch that addressed a UAF introduced a reference count leak:
the parallel_data refcount is incremented unconditionally, regardless
of the return value of queue_work(). If the work item is already queued,
the incremented refcount is never decremented.
Fix this by checking the return value of queue_work() and decrementing
the refcount when necessary.
Resolves:
Unreferenced object 0xffff9d9f421e3d80 (size 192):
comm "cryptomgr_probe", pid 157, jiffies 4294694003
hex dump (first 32 bytes):
80 8b cf 41 9f 9d ff ff b8 97 e0 89 ff ff ff ff ...A............
d0 97 e0 89 ff ff ff ff 19 00 00 00 1f 88 23 00 ..............#.
backtrace (crc 838fb36):
__kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x284/0x320
padata_alloc_pd+0x20/0x1e0
padata_alloc_shell+0x3b/0xa0
0xffffffffc040a54d
cryptomgr_probe+0x43/0xc0
kthread+0xf6/0x1f0
ret_from_fork+0x2f/0x50
ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
Impact
CVE-2025-38031 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-38031? CVE-2025-38031 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38031? CVE-2025-38031 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-38031? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38031 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38031 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38031 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-38031 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.