---
id: CVE-2025-38675
title: 'xfrm: state: initialize state_ptrs earlier in xfrm_state_find'
summary: |-
  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…
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cvssSource: cna
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= a16871c7832ea6435abb6e0b58289ae7dcb7e4fc <
    6bf2daafc51bcb9272c0fdff2afd38217337d0d3
  - >-
    Linux >= e952837f3ddb0ff726d5b582aa1aad9aa38d024d <
    463562f9591742be62ddde3b426a0533ed496955
  - >-
    Linux >= e952837f3ddb0ff726d5b582aa1aad9aa38d024d <
    94d077c331730510d5611b438640a292097341f0
  - Linux 80610185e9dd2ef7c0a4818a47390a8655b3dc27
  - Linux b86dc510308d7a8955f3f47a4fea4bef887653e4
  - Linux dd4c2a174994238d55ab54da2545543d36f4e0d0
  - Linux >= 6.12.13 < 6.12.41
  - Linux >= 6.1.191 < 6.2
  - Linux >= 6.6.120 < 6.7
  - Linux >= 6.13.2 < 6.14
  - Linux 6.14
published: '2025-08-22'
updated: '2026-10-30'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-30T12:22:11.594Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38675'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6bf2daafc51bcb9272c0fdff2afd38217337d0d3'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/463562f9591742be62ddde3b426a0533ed496955'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/94d077c331730510d5611b438640a292097341f0'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00123
epssPercentile: 0.02064
ingestedAt: '2026-11-03T19:53:18.506Z'
---

## Overview

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
isn't initialized at this point.

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

## Affected

- `Linux >= a16871c7832ea6435abb6e0b58289ae7dcb7e4fc < 6bf2daafc51bcb9272c0fdff2afd38217337d0d3`
- `Linux >= e952837f3ddb0ff726d5b582aa1aad9aa38d024d < 463562f9591742be62ddde3b426a0533ed496955`
- `Linux >= e952837f3ddb0ff726d5b582aa1aad9aa38d024d < 94d077c331730510d5611b438640a292097341f0`
- `Linux 80610185e9dd2ef7c0a4818a47390a8655b3dc27`
- `Linux b86dc510308d7a8955f3f47a4fea4bef887653e4`
- `Linux dd4c2a174994238d55ab54da2545543d36f4e0d0`
- `Linux >= 6.12.13 < 6.12.41`
- `Linux >= 6.1.191 < 6.2`
- `Linux >= 6.6.120 < 6.7`
- `Linux >= 6.13.2 < 6.14`
- `Linux 6.14`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.