CVE-2025-38020 is a Linux kernel vulnerability affecting Debian and other Linux distributions, specifically within the mlx5e network driver. It stems from a failure to disable MACsec offload for uplink representors in switchdev mode, leading to a null pointer dereference when attempting to add offloads. This vulnerability has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium), indicating a local attack vector with low complexity, and its primary impact is a denial of service (system crash). There is no evidence of active exploitation, public exploit code, or inclusion in the KEV catalog, though it has garnered some community discussion and media coverage.
| Vendor | Product | Version(s) | CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
>= 6.1, < 6.1.140CPE matchmatch criteria | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
>= 6.2, < 6.6.92CPE matchmatch criteria | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
>= 6.7, < 6.12.30CPE matchmatch criteria | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
>= 6.13, < 6.14.8CPE matchmatch criteria | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | ||
6.15CPE matchmatch criteria | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.15:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* |
CVSS version used by this source: 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.0 Reddit, 0.0 Bluesky, 0.0 Mastodon, and 0.1 GitHub mentions.
The average CVE in this peer group has 0.1 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.
Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
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Mar 4, 2026Linux kernel (Xilinx) vulnerabilities
Feb 24, 2026Linux kernel (IBM) vulnerabilities
Feb 24, 2026kernel: net/mlx5e: Disable MACsec offload for uplink representor profile
Jun 18, 2025