CVE-2025-38621: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4p23-qfc5-2vc9
Share
CVSS 5.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-38621 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-2025-38621 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-38621
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4p23-qfc5-2vc9
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-2025-38621

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-2025-38621, 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: md: make rdev_addable usable for rcu mode Our testcase trigger panic: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000e0 ... Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 85 Comm: kworker/2:1 Not tainted 6.16.0+ #94 PREEMPT(none) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014 Workqueue: md_misc md_start_sync RIP: 0010:rdev_addable+0x4d/0xf0 ... Call Trace: <TASK> md_start_sync+0x329/0x480 process_one_work+0x226/0x6d0 worker_thread+0x19e/0x340 kthread+0x10f/0x250 ret_from_fork+0x14d/0x180 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Modules linked in: raid10 CR2: 00000000000000e0 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- RIP: 0010:rdev_addable+0x4d/0xf0 md_spares_need_change in md_start_sync will call rdev_addable which protected by rcu_read_lock/rcu_read_unlock. This rcu context will help protect rdev won't be released, but rdev->mddev will be set to NULL before we call synchronize_rcu in md_kick_rdev_from_array. Fix this by using READ_ONCE and check does rdev->mddev still alive.

References

NVD — CVE-2025-38621 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38621
git.kernel.org/stable/c/13017b4271... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/13017b427118f4311471ee47df74872372ca8482
git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5fbe94086... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5fbe940862339cdcc34dea7a057ad18d18fa137
git.kernel.org/stable/c/d713e105a6... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d713e105a6137d3f54f09d4d9e2273482057ca17

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-38621?
CVE-2025-38621 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-2025-38621?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-38621?
CVE-2025-38621 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-2025-38621?
CVE-2025-38621 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-2025-38621?
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-4p23-qfc5-2vc9",
  "modified" : "2026-09-07T18:31:30Z",
  "published" : "2025-08-22T18:31:21Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-38621" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmd: make rdev_addable usable for rcu mode\n\nOur testcase trigger panic:\n\nBUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000e0\n...\nOops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI\nCPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 85 Comm: kworker/2:1 Not tainted 6.16.0+ #94\nPREEMPT(none)\nHardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS\n1.16.1-2.fc37 04/01/2014\nWorkqueue: md_misc md_start_sync\nRIP: 0010:rdev_addable+0x4d/0xf0\n...\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n md_start_sync+0x329/0x480\n process_one_work+0x226/0x6d0\n worker_thread+0x19e/0x340\n kthread+0x10f/0x250\n ret_from_fork+0x14d/0x180\n ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30\n </TASK>\nModules linked in: raid10\nCR2: 00000000000000e0\n---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---\nRIP: 0010:rdev_addable+0x4d/0xf0\n\nmd_spares_need_change in md_start_sync will call rdev_addable which\nprotected by rcu_read_lock/rcu_read_unlock. This rcu context will help\nprotect rdev won't be released, but rdev->mddev will be set to NULL\nbefore we call synchronize_rcu in md_kick_rdev_from_array. Fix this by\nusing READ_ONCE and check does rdev->mddev still alive.",
  "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-2025-38621"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/13017b427118f4311471ee47df74872372ca8482"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5fbe940862339cdcc34dea7a057ad18d18fa137"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d713e105a6137d3f54f09d4d9e2273482057ca17"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-08-22T16:15:35Z"
  }
}