CVE-2025-38675

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

xfrm: state: initialize state_ptrs earlier in xfrm_state_find

In case of preemption, xfrm_state_look_at will find a different pcpu_id and look up states for that other CPU. If we matched a state for CPU2 in the state_cache while the lookup started on CPU1, we will jump to found, but the best state that we got will be ignored and we will enter the acquire block. This block uses state_ptrs, which isnt initialized at this point.

Lets initialize state_ptrs just after taking rcu_read_lock. This will also prevent a possible misuse in the future, if someone adjusts this function.

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

• Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
• Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/26.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/29.html

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/463562f9591742be62ddde3b426a0533ed496955
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6bf2daafc51bcb9272c0fdff2afd38217337d0d3
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/94d077c331730510d5611b438640a292097341f0