Kernel Vulnerability in Linux Affecting Network Packet Processing

CVE-2025-38192

What is CVE-2025-38192?

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel allows improperly configured NAT46 BPF programs to cause kernel crashes by mishandling the conversion of ingress packets from IPv4 to IPv6. When a multicast socket attempts to loop back a packet, the destination buffer remains linked to the original IPv4 protocol after conversion, which can lead to null pointer dereference errors during packet processing. This flaw requires careful mitigation in the handling of protocol changes in BPF helpers to avoid disruption in network operations.

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