CVE-2025-38523: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4x9v-h3r3-c3mf
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-1188
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-38523 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the product's installer, administrator, or maintainer, but the default is not secure.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2025-38523 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-38523
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4x9v-h3r3-c3mf
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2025-38523

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2025-38523, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default, where the product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the product's installer, administrator, or maintainer, but the default is not secure. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cifs: Fix the smbd_response slab to allow usercopy The handling of received data in the smbdirect client code involves using copy_to_iter() to copy data from the smbd_reponse struct's packet trailer to a folioq buffer provided by netfslib that encapsulates a chunk of pagecache. If, however, CONFIG_HARDENED_USERCOPY=y, this will result in the checks then performed in copy_to_iter() oopsing with something like the following: CIFS: Attempting to mount //172.31.9.1/test CIFS: VFS: RDMA transport established usercopy: Kernel memory exposure attempt detected from SLUB object 'smbd_response_0000000091e24ea1' (offset 81, size 63)! ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at mm/usercopy.c:102! ... RIP: 0010:usercopy_abort+0x6c/0x80 ... Call Trace: <TASK> __check_heap_object+0xe3/0x120 __check_object_size+0x4dc/0x6d0 smbd_recv+0x77f/0xfe0 [cifs] cifs_readv_from_socket+0x276/0x8f0 [cifs] cifs_read_from_socket+0xcd/0x120 [cifs] cifs_demultiplex_thread+0x7e9/0x2d50 [cifs] kthread+0x396/0x830 ret_from_fork+0x2b8/0x3b0 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 The problem is that the smbd_response slab's packet field isn't marked as being permitted for usercopy. Fix this by passing parameters to kmem_slab_create() to indicate that copy_to_iter() is permitted from the packet region of the smbd_response slab objects, less the header space.

References

NVD — CVE-2025-38523 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38523
git.kernel.org/stable/c/43e7e284fc... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43e7e284fc77b710d899569360ea46fa3374ae22
git.kernel.org/stable/c/87dcc7e33f... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87dcc7e33fc3dcb8ed32333cec016528b5bb6ce4
git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0dd353d47... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0dd353d47f7051afa98c6c60c7486831eb1a410

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-38523?
CVE-2025-38523 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2025-38523?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-38523?
CVE-2025-38523 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-38523?
CVE-2025-38523 is classified under CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default (The product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the product's installer, administrator, or maintainer, but the default is not secure.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2025-38523?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-4x9v-h3r3-c3mf",
  "modified" : "2025-11-19T00:31:23Z",
  "published" : "2025-08-16T12:30:32Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-38523" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ncifs: Fix the smbd_response slab to allow usercopy\n\nThe handling of received data in the smbdirect client code involves using\ncopy_to_iter() to copy data from the smbd_reponse struct's packet trailer\nto a folioq buffer provided by netfslib that encapsulates a chunk of\npagecache.\n\nIf, however, CONFIG_HARDENED_USERCOPY=y, this will result in the checks\nthen performed in copy_to_iter() oopsing with something like the following:\n\n CIFS: Attempting to mount //172.31.9.1/test\n CIFS: VFS: RDMA transport established\n usercopy: Kernel memory exposure attempt detected from SLUB object 'smbd_response_0000000091e24ea1' (offset 81, size 63)!\n ------------[ cut here ]------------\n kernel BUG at mm/usercopy.c:102!\n ...\n RIP: 0010:usercopy_abort+0x6c/0x80\n ...\n Call Trace:\n  <TASK>\n  __check_heap_object+0xe3/0x120\n  __check_object_size+0x4dc/0x6d0\n  smbd_recv+0x77f/0xfe0 [cifs]\n  cifs_readv_from_socket+0x276/0x8f0 [cifs]\n  cifs_read_from_socket+0xcd/0x120 [cifs]\n  cifs_demultiplex_thread+0x7e9/0x2d50 [cifs]\n  kthread+0x396/0x830\n  ret_from_fork+0x2b8/0x3b0\n  ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30\n\nThe problem is that the smbd_response slab's packet field isn't marked as\nbeing permitted for usercopy.\n\nFix this by passing parameters to kmem_slab_create() to indicate that\ncopy_to_iter() is permitted from the packet region of the smbd_response\nslab objects, less the header space.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38523"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43e7e284fc77b710d899569360ea46fa3374ae22"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87dcc7e33fc3dcb8ed32333cec016528b5bb6ce4"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0dd353d47f7051afa98c6c60c7486831eb1a410"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-1188" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-08-16T12:15:27Z"
  }
}