CVE-2025-38684: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fcgw-gqq6-4hgf
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-476
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-38684 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-2025-38684 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-38684
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fcgw-gqq6-4hgf
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-2025-38684

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-2025-38684, 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/sched: ets: use old 'nbands' while purging unused classes Shuang reported sch_ets test-case [1] crashing in ets_class_qlen_notify() after recent changes from Lion [2]. The problem is: in ets_qdisc_change() we purge unused DWRR queues; the value of 'q->nbands' is the new one, and the cleanup should be done with the old one. The problem is here since my first attempts to fix ets_qdisc_change(), but it surfaced again after the recent qdisc len accounting fixes. Fix it purging idle DWRR queues before assigning a new value of 'q->nbands', so that all purge operations find a consistent configuration: - old 'q->nbands' because it's needed by ets_class_find() - old 'q->nstrict' because it's needed by ets_class_is_strict() BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 62 UID: 0 PID: 39457 Comm: tc Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.12.0-116.el10.x86_64 #1 PREEMPT(voluntary) Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R640/06DKY5, BIOS 2.12.2 07/09/2021 RIP: 0010:__list_del_entry_valid_or_report+0x4/0x80 Code: ff 4c 39 c7 0f 84 39 19 8e ff b8 01 00 00 00 c3 cc cc cc cc 66 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 f3 0f 1e fa <48> 8b 17 48 8b 4f 08 48 85 d2 0f 84 56 19 8e ff 48 85 c9 0f 84 ab RSP: 0018:ffffba186009f400 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: 00000000000000d6 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000004 RDX: ffff9f0fa29b69c0 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: ffffffffc12c2400 R08: 0000000000000008 R09: 0000000000000004 R10: ffffffffffffffff R11: 0000000000000004 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: ffff9f0f8cfe0000 R14: 0000000000100005 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f2154f37480(0000) GS:ffff9f269c1c0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 00000001530be001 CR4: 00000000007726f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ets_class_qlen_notify+0x65/0x90 [sch_ets] qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog+0x74/0x110 ets_qdisc_change+0x630/0xa40 [sch_ets] __tc_modify_qdisc.constprop.0+0x216/0x7f0 tc_modify_qdisc+0x7c/0x120 rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x145/0x3f0 netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100 netlink_unicast+0x245/0x390 netlink_sendmsg+0x21b/0x470 ____sys_sendmsg+0x39d/0x3d0 ___sys_sendmsg+0x9a/0xe0 __sys_sendmsg+0x7a/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x7d/0x160 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7f2155114084 Code: 89 02 b8 ff ff ff ff eb bb 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 00 f3 0f 1e fa 80 3d 25 f0 0c 00 00 74 13 b8 2e 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 54 c3 0f 1f 00 48 83 ec 28 89 54 24 1c 48 89 RSP: 002b:00007fff1fd7a988 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002e RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000560ec063e5e0 RCX: 00007f2155114084 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00007fff1fd7a9f0 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007fff1fd7aa60 R08: 0000000000000010 R09: 000000000000003f R10: 0000560ee9b3a010 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 00007fff1fd7aae0 R13: 000000006891ccde R14: 0000560ec063e5e0 R15: 00007fff1fd7aad0 </TASK> [1] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/e08c7f4a6882f260011909a868311c6e9b54f3e4.1639153474.git.dcaratti@redhat.com/ [2] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/d912cbd7-193b-4269-9857-525bee8bbb6a@gmail.com/

References

NVD — CVE-2025-38684 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38684
cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ss... WEB
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-032379.html
git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b3b346bc4... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b3b346bc4c2aa2c428735438a11989d251f32f1
git.kernel.org/stable/c/84a24fb446... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84a24fb446ee07b22b64aae6f0e3f4a38266310a
git.kernel.org/stable/c/87c6efc5ce... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87c6efc5ce9c126ae4a781bc04504b83780e3650
git.kernel.org/stable/c/970c1c731c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/970c1c731c4ede46d05f5b0355724d1e400cfbca
git.kernel.org/stable/c/97ec167cd2... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/97ec167cd2e8a81a2d87331a2ed92daf007542c8
git.kernel.org/stable/c/bdfddcde86... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bdfddcde86e8b9245d9c0c2efe2b6fe8dcf6bf41
git.kernel.org/stable/c/be9692dafd... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be9692dafdfb36d9c43afd9d4e1d9d9ba8e7b51b
git.kernel.org/stable/c/d69f4a258c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d69f4a258cd91b3bcef7089eb0401005aae2aed5
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-38684?
CVE-2025-38684 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-2025-38684?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-38684?
CVE-2025-38684 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-2025-38684?
CVE-2025-38684 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-2025-38684?
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-fcgw-gqq6-4hgf",
  "modified" : "2026-05-12T15:30:59Z",
  "published" : "2025-09-05T18:31:15Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-38684" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet/sched: ets: use old 'nbands' while purging unused classes\n\nShuang reported sch_ets test-case [1] crashing in ets_class_qlen_notify()\nafter recent changes from Lion [2]. The problem is: in ets_qdisc_change()\nwe purge unused DWRR queues; the value of 'q->nbands' is the new one, and\nthe cleanup should be done with the old one. The problem is here since my\nfirst attempts to fix ets_qdisc_change(), but it surfaced again after the\nrecent qdisc len accounting fixes. Fix it purging idle DWRR queues before\nassigning a new value of 'q->nbands', so that all purge operations find a\nconsistent configuration:\n\n - old 'q->nbands' because it's needed by ets_class_find()\n - old 'q->nstrict' because it's needed by ets_class_is_strict()\n\n BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000\n #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode\n #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page\n PGD 0 P4D 0\n Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI\n CPU: 62 UID: 0 PID: 39457 Comm: tc Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.12.0-116.el10.x86_64 #1 PREEMPT(voluntary)\n Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R640/06DKY5, BIOS 2.12.2 07/09/2021\n RIP: 0010:__list_del_entry_valid_or_report+0x4/0x80\n Code: ff 4c 39 c7 0f 84 39 19 8e ff b8 01 00 00 00 c3 cc cc cc cc 66 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 f3 0f 1e fa <48> 8b 17 48 8b 4f 08 48 85 d2 0f 84 56 19 8e ff 48 85 c9 0f 84 ab\n RSP: 0018:ffffba186009f400 EFLAGS: 00010202\n RAX: 00000000000000d6 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000004\n RDX: ffff9f0fa29b69c0 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000000\n RBP: ffffffffc12c2400 R08: 0000000000000008 R09: 0000000000000004\n R10: ffffffffffffffff R11: 0000000000000004 R12: 0000000000000000\n R13: ffff9f0f8cfe0000 R14: 0000000000100005 R15: 0000000000000000\n FS:  00007f2154f37480(0000) GS:ffff9f269c1c0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000\n CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033\n CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 00000001530be001 CR4: 00000000007726f0\n DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000\n DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400\n PKRU: 55555554\n Call Trace:\n  <TASK>\n  ets_class_qlen_notify+0x65/0x90 [sch_ets]\n  qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog+0x74/0x110\n  ets_qdisc_change+0x630/0xa40 [sch_ets]\n  __tc_modify_qdisc.constprop.0+0x216/0x7f0\n  tc_modify_qdisc+0x7c/0x120\n  rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x145/0x3f0\n  netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100\n  netlink_unicast+0x245/0x390\n  netlink_sendmsg+0x21b/0x470\n  ____sys_sendmsg+0x39d/0x3d0\n  ___sys_sendmsg+0x9a/0xe0\n  __sys_sendmsg+0x7a/0xd0\n  do_syscall_64+0x7d/0x160\n  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e\n RIP: 0033:0x7f2155114084\n Code: 89 02 b8 ff ff ff ff eb bb 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 00 f3 0f 1e fa 80 3d 25 f0 0c 00 00 74 13 b8 2e 00 00 00 0f 05 <48> 3d 00 f0 ff ff 77 54 c3 0f 1f 00 48 83 ec 28 89 54 24 1c 48 89\n RSP: 002b:00007fff1fd7a988 EFLAGS: 00000202 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002e\n RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000560ec063e5e0 RCX: 00007f2155114084\n RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00007fff1fd7a9f0 RDI: 0000000000000003\n RBP: 00007fff1fd7aa60 R08: 0000000000000010 R09: 000000000000003f\n R10: 0000560ee9b3a010 R11: 0000000000000202 R12: 00007fff1fd7aae0\n R13: 000000006891ccde R14: 0000560ec063e5e0 R15: 00007fff1fd7aad0\n  </TASK>\n\n [1] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/e08c7f4a6882f260011909a868311c6e9b54f3e4.1639153474.git.dcaratti@redhat.com/\n [2] https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/d912cbd7-193b-4269-9857-525bee8bbb6a@gmail.com/",
  "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-2025-38684"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-032379.html"
  }, {
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    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b3b346bc4c2aa2c428735438a11989d251f32f1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84a24fb446ee07b22b64aae6f0e3f4a38266310a"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87c6efc5ce9c126ae4a781bc04504b83780e3650"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/970c1c731c4ede46d05f5b0355724d1e400cfbca"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/97ec167cd2e8a81a2d87331a2ed92daf007542c8"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bdfddcde86e8b9245d9c0c2efe2b6fe8dcf6bf41"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be9692dafdfb36d9c43afd9d4e1d9d9ba8e7b51b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d69f4a258cd91b3bcef7089eb0401005aae2aed5"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-476" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-09-04T16:15:36Z"
  }
}