CVE-2025-38735
gve: prevent ethtool ops after shutdown
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gve: prevent ethtool ops after shutdown A crash can occur if an ethtool operation is invoked after shutdown() is called. shutdown() is invoked during system shutdown to stop DMA operations without performing expensive deallocations. It is discouraged to unregister the netdev in this path, so the device may still be visible to userspace and kernel helpers. In gve, shutdown() tears down most internal data structures. If an ethtool operation is dispatched after shutdown(), it will dereference freed or NULL pointers, leading to a kernel panic. While graceful shutdown normally quiesces userspace before invoking the reboot syscall, forced shutdowns (as observed on GCP VMs) can still trigger this path. Fix by calling netif_device_detach() in shutdown(). This marks the device as detached so the ethtool ioctl handler will skip dispatching operations to the driver.
INFO
Published Date :
Sept. 5, 2025, 6:15 p.m.
Last Modified :
Jan. 8, 2026, 3:37 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Call netif_device_detach() in shutdown().
- Mark the device as detached.
- Skip ethtool operations to the driver.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2025-38735.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-38735 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-38735
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2025-38735 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2025-38735 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Jan. 08, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Added CWE CWE-476 Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.2 up to (excluding) 6.6.103 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.7 up to (excluding) 6.12.44 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.13 up to (excluding) 6.16.4 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 5.17 up to (excluding) 6.1.149 Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a4e89d50e8ea52e800bc7865970b92fcf4647c Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75a9a46d67f46d608205888f9b34e315c1786345 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9d8a41e9a4ff83ff666de811e7f012167cdc00e9 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7efffeecb881b4649fdc30de020ef910f35d646 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba51d73408edf815cbaeab148625576c2dd90192 Types: Patch Added Reference Type CVE: https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html Types: Mailing List, Third Party Advisory -
CVE Modified by af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Nov. 03, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Reference https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html -
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Sep. 05, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gve: prevent ethtool ops after shutdown A crash can occur if an ethtool operation is invoked after shutdown() is called. shutdown() is invoked during system shutdown to stop DMA operations without performing expensive deallocations. It is discouraged to unregister the netdev in this path, so the device may still be visible to userspace and kernel helpers. In gve, shutdown() tears down most internal data structures. If an ethtool operation is dispatched after shutdown(), it will dereference freed or NULL pointers, leading to a kernel panic. While graceful shutdown normally quiesces userspace before invoking the reboot syscall, forced shutdowns (as observed on GCP VMs) can still trigger this path. Fix by calling netif_device_detach() in shutdown(). This marks the device as detached so the ethtool ioctl handler will skip dispatching operations to the driver. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a4e89d50e8ea52e800bc7865970b92fcf4647c Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75a9a46d67f46d608205888f9b34e315c1786345 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9d8a41e9a4ff83ff666de811e7f012167cdc00e9 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7efffeecb881b4649fdc30de020ef910f35d646 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba51d73408edf815cbaeab148625576c2dd90192