Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bnxt_en: Fix double...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
bnxt_en: Fix double invocation of bnxt_ulp_stop()/bnxt_ulp_start()
Before the commit under the Fixes tag below, bnxt_ulp_stop() and
bnxt_ulp_start() were always invoked in pairs. After that commit,
the new bnxt_ulp_restart() can be invoked after bnxt_ulp_stop()
has been called. This may result in the RoCE driver's aux driver
.suspend() method being invoked twice. The 2nd bnxt_re_suspend()
call will crash when it dereferences a NULL pointer:
(NULL ib_device): Handle device suspend call
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000b78
PGD 0 P4D 0
Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI
CPU: 20 UID: 0 PID: 181 Comm: kworker/u96:5 Tainted: G S 6.15.0-rc1 #4 PREEMPT(voluntary)
Tainted: [S]=CPU_OUT_OF_SPEC
Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R730/072T6D, BIOS 2.4.3 01/17/2017
Workqueue: bnxt_pf_wq bnxt_sp_task [bnxt_en]
RIP: 0010:bnxt_re_suspend+0x45/0x1f0 [bnxt_re]
Code: 8b 05 a7 3c 5b f5 48 89 44 24 18 31 c0 49 8b 5c 24 08 4d 8b 2c 24 e8 ea 06 0a f4 48 c7 c6 04 60 52 c0 48 89 df e8 1b ce f9 ff <48> 8b 83 78 0b 00 00 48 8b 80 38 03 00 00 a8 40 0f 85 b5 00 00 00
RSP: 0018:ffffa2e84084fd88 EFLAGS: 00010246
RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000001
RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffffffffb4b6b934 RDI: 00000000ffffffff
RBP: ffffa1760954c9c0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: c0000000ffffdfff
R10: 0000000000000001 R11: ffffa2e84084fb50 R12: ffffa176031ef070
R13: ffffa17609775000 R14: ffffa17603adc180 R15: 0000000000000000
FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffffa17daa397000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 0000000000000b78 CR3: 00000004aaa30003 CR4: 00000000003706f0
DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
Call Trace:
bnxt_ulp_stop+0x69/0x90 [bnxt_en]
bnxt_sp_task+0x678/0x920 [bnxt_en]
? __schedule+0x514/0xf50
process_scheduled_works+0x9d/0x400
worker_thread+0x11c/0x260
? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10
kthread+0xfe/0x1e0
? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
ret_from_fork+0x2b/0x40
? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
Check the BNXT_EN_FLAG_ULP_STOPPED flag and do not proceed if the flag
is already set. This will preserve the original symmetrical
bnxt_ulp_stop() and bnxt_ulp_start().
Also, inside bnxt_ulp_start(), clear the BNXT_EN_FLAG_ULP_STOPPED
flag after taking the mutex to avoid any race condition. And for
symmetry, only proceed in bnxt_ulp_start() if the
BNXT_EN_FLAG_ULP_STOPPED is set.
Impact
CVE-2025-38186 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-2025-38186? CVE-2025-38186 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38186? CVE-2025-38186 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-2025-38186? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38186 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38186 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38186 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-2025-38186 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.