CVE-2025-38020: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-gvv6-qc64-74pq
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-38020 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2025-38020 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-38020
GHSA Identifier GHSA-gvv6-qc64-74pq
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference
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-2025-38020

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-2025-38020, 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-476: NULL Pointer Dereference, where the product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is null. 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: net/mlx5e: Disable MACsec offload for uplink representor profile MACsec offload is not supported in switchdev mode for uplink representors. When switching to the uplink representor profile, the MACsec offload feature must be cleared from the netdevice's features. If left enabled, attempts to add offloads result in a null pointer dereference, as the uplink representor does not support MACsec offload even though the feature bit remains set. Clear NETIF_F_HW_MACSEC in mlx5e_fix_uplink_rep_features(). Kernel log: Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc000000000f: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000078-0x000000000000007f] CPU: 29 UID: 0 PID: 4714 Comm: ip Not tainted 6.14.0-rc4_for_upstream_debug_2025_03_02_17_35 #1 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__mutex_lock+0x128/0x1dd0 Code: d0 7c 08 84 d2 0f 85 ad 15 00 00 8b 35 91 5c fe 03 85 f6 75 29 49 8d 7e 60 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 0f 85 a6 15 00 00 4d 3b 76 60 0f 85 fd 0b 00 00 65 ff RSP: 0018:ffff888147a4f160 EFLAGS: 00010206 RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000001 RDX: 000000000000000f RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000078 RBP: ffff888147a4f2e0 R08: ffffffffa05d2c19 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: dffffc0000000000 R14: 0000000000000018 R15: ffff888152de0000 FS: 00007f855e27d800(0000) GS:ffff88881ee80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00000000004e5768 CR3: 000000013ae7c005 CR4: 0000000000372eb0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe07f0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> ? die_addr+0x3d/0xa0 ? exc_general_protection+0x144/0x220 ? asm_exc_general_protection+0x22/0x30 ? mlx5e_macsec_add_secy+0xf9/0x700 [mlx5_core] ? __mutex_lock+0x128/0x1dd0 ? lockdep_set_lock_cmp_fn+0x190/0x190 ? mlx5e_macsec_add_secy+0xf9/0x700 [mlx5_core] ? mutex_lock_io_nested+0x1ae0/0x1ae0 ? lock_acquire+0x1c2/0x530 ? macsec_upd_offload+0x145/0x380 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x400/0x400 ? kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x40 ? kasan_save_stack+0x20/0x40 ? kasan_save_track+0x10/0x30 ? __kasan_kmalloc+0x77/0x90 ? __kmalloc_noprof+0x249/0x6b0 ? genl_family_rcv_msg_attrs_parse.constprop.0+0xb5/0x240 ? mlx5e_macsec_add_secy+0xf9/0x700 [mlx5_core] mlx5e_macsec_add_secy+0xf9/0x700 [mlx5_core] ? mlx5e_macsec_add_rxsa+0x11a0/0x11a0 [mlx5_core] macsec_update_offload+0x26c/0x820 ? macsec_set_mac_address+0x4b0/0x4b0 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x284/0x400 ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x47/0x50 macsec_upd_offload+0x2c8/0x380 ? macsec_update_offload+0x820/0x820 ? __nla_parse+0x22/0x30 ? genl_family_rcv_msg_attrs_parse.constprop.0+0x15e/0x240 genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x1cc/0x2a0 ? genl_family_rcv_msg_attrs_parse.constprop.0+0x240/0x240 ? cap_capable+0xd4/0x330 genl_rcv_msg+0x3ea/0x670 ? genl_family_rcv_msg_dumpit+0x2a0/0x2a0 ? lockdep_set_lock_cmp_fn+0x190/0x190 ? macsec_update_offload+0x820/0x820 netlink_rcv_skb+0x12b/0x390 ? genl_family_rcv_msg_dumpit+0x2a0/0x2a0 ? netlink_ack+0xd80/0xd80 ? rwsem_down_read_slowpath+0xf90/0xf90 ? netlink_deliver_tap+0xcd/0xac0 ? netlink_deliver_tap+0x155/0xac0 ? _copy_from_iter+0x1bb/0x12c0 genl_rcv+0x24/0x40 netlink_unicast+0x440/0x700 ? netlink_attachskb+0x760/0x760 ? lock_acquire+0x1c2/0x530 ? __might_fault+0xbb/0x170 netlink_sendmsg+0x749/0xc10 ? netlink_unicast+0x700/0x700 ? __might_fault+0xbb/0x170 ? netlink_unicast+0x700/0x700 __sock_sendmsg+0xc5/0x190 ____sys_sendmsg+0x53f/0x760 ? import_iovec+0x7/0x10 ? kernel_sendmsg+0x30/0x30 ? __copy_msghdr+0x3c0/0x3c0 ? filter_irq_stacks+0x90/0x90 ? stack_depot_save_flags+0x28/0xa30 ___sys_sen ---truncated---

References

NVD — CVE-2025-38020 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38020
git.kernel.org/stable/c/1a69d53922... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1a69d53922c1221351739f17837d38e317234e5d
git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e577aeb51... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e577aeb51e9deba4f2c10edfcb07cb3cb406598
git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f80e6ff02... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f80e6ff026041721d8089da8c269b1963628325
git.kernel.org/stable/c/588431474e... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/588431474eb7572e57a927fa8558c9ba2f8af143
git.kernel.org/stable/c/b48a47e137... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b48a47e137cedfd79655accaeeea6b296ad0b9e1
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/08/msg00010.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-38020?
CVE-2025-38020 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2025-38020?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-38020?
CVE-2025-38020 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-2025-38020?
CVE-2025-38020 is classified under CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference (The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2025-38020?
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-gvv6-qc64-74pq",
  "modified" : "2025-12-17T21:30:30Z",
  "published" : "2025-06-18T12:30:31Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-38020" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/mlx5e: Disable MACsec offload for uplink representor profile\n\nMACsec offload is not supported in switchdev mode for uplink\nrepresentors. When switching to the uplink representor profile, the\nMACsec offload feature must be cleared from the netdevice's features.\n\nIf left enabled, attempts to add offloads result in a null pointer\ndereference, as the uplink representor does not support MACsec offload\neven though the feature bit remains set.\n\nClear NETIF_F_HW_MACSEC in mlx5e_fix_uplink_rep_features().\n\nKernel log:\n\nOops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc000000000f: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN\nKASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000078-0x000000000000007f]\nCPU: 29 UID: 0 PID: 4714 Comm: ip Not tainted 6.14.0-rc4_for_upstream_debug_2025_03_02_17_35 #1\nHardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014\nRIP: 0010:__mutex_lock+0x128/0x1dd0\nCode: d0 7c 08 84 d2 0f 85 ad 15 00 00 8b 35 91 5c fe 03 85 f6 75 29 49 8d 7e 60 48 b8 00 00 00 00 00 fc ff df 48 89 fa 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 0f 85 a6 15 00 00 4d 3b 76 60 0f 85 fd 0b 00 00 65 ff\nRSP: 0018:ffff888147a4f160 EFLAGS: 00010206\nRAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000001\nRDX: 000000000000000f RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000078\nRBP: ffff888147a4f2e0 R08: ffffffffa05d2c19 R09: 0000000000000000\nR10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 0000000000000000\nR13: dffffc0000000000 R14: 0000000000000018 R15: ffff888152de0000\nFS:  00007f855e27d800(0000) GS:ffff88881ee80000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000\nCS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033\nCR2: 00000000004e5768 CR3: 000000013ae7c005 CR4: 0000000000372eb0\nDR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000\nDR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe07f0 DR7: 0000000000000400\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n ? die_addr+0x3d/0xa0\n ? exc_general_protection+0x144/0x220\n ? asm_exc_general_protection+0x22/0x30\n ? mlx5e_macsec_add_secy+0xf9/0x700 [mlx5_core]\n ? __mutex_lock+0x128/0x1dd0\n ? lockdep_set_lock_cmp_fn+0x190/0x190\n ? mlx5e_macsec_add_secy+0xf9/0x700 [mlx5_core]\n ? mutex_lock_io_nested+0x1ae0/0x1ae0\n ? lock_acquire+0x1c2/0x530\n ? macsec_upd_offload+0x145/0x380\n ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x400/0x400\n ? kasan_save_stack+0x30/0x40\n ? kasan_save_stack+0x20/0x40\n ? kasan_save_track+0x10/0x30\n ? __kasan_kmalloc+0x77/0x90\n ? __kmalloc_noprof+0x249/0x6b0\n ? genl_family_rcv_msg_attrs_parse.constprop.0+0xb5/0x240\n ? mlx5e_macsec_add_secy+0xf9/0x700 [mlx5_core]\n mlx5e_macsec_add_secy+0xf9/0x700 [mlx5_core]\n ? mlx5e_macsec_add_rxsa+0x11a0/0x11a0 [mlx5_core]\n macsec_update_offload+0x26c/0x820\n ? macsec_set_mac_address+0x4b0/0x4b0\n ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0x284/0x400\n ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x47/0x50\n macsec_upd_offload+0x2c8/0x380\n ? macsec_update_offload+0x820/0x820\n ? __nla_parse+0x22/0x30\n ? genl_family_rcv_msg_attrs_parse.constprop.0+0x15e/0x240\n genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0x1cc/0x2a0\n ? genl_family_rcv_msg_attrs_parse.constprop.0+0x240/0x240\n ? cap_capable+0xd4/0x330\n genl_rcv_msg+0x3ea/0x670\n ? genl_family_rcv_msg_dumpit+0x2a0/0x2a0\n ? lockdep_set_lock_cmp_fn+0x190/0x190\n ? macsec_update_offload+0x820/0x820\n netlink_rcv_skb+0x12b/0x390\n ? genl_family_rcv_msg_dumpit+0x2a0/0x2a0\n ? netlink_ack+0xd80/0xd80\n ? rwsem_down_read_slowpath+0xf90/0xf90\n ? netlink_deliver_tap+0xcd/0xac0\n ? netlink_deliver_tap+0x155/0xac0\n ? _copy_from_iter+0x1bb/0x12c0\n genl_rcv+0x24/0x40\n netlink_unicast+0x440/0x700\n ? netlink_attachskb+0x760/0x760\n ? lock_acquire+0x1c2/0x530\n ? __might_fault+0xbb/0x170\n netlink_sendmsg+0x749/0xc10\n ? netlink_unicast+0x700/0x700\n ? __might_fault+0xbb/0x170\n ? netlink_unicast+0x700/0x700\n __sock_sendmsg+0xc5/0x190\n ____sys_sendmsg+0x53f/0x760\n ? import_iovec+0x7/0x10\n ? kernel_sendmsg+0x30/0x30\n ? __copy_msghdr+0x3c0/0x3c0\n ? filter_irq_stacks+0x90/0x90\n ? stack_depot_save_flags+0x28/0xa30\n ___sys_sen\n---truncated---",
  "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-2025-38020"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1a69d53922c1221351739f17837d38e317234e5d"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e577aeb51e9deba4f2c10edfcb07cb3cb406598"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f80e6ff026041721d8089da8c269b1963628325"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/588431474eb7572e57a927fa8558c9ba2f8af143"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b48a47e137cedfd79655accaeeea6b296ad0b9e1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/08/msg00010.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-06-18T10:15:33Z"
  }
}