CVE-2025-38735

gve: prevent ethtool ops after shutdown

MEDIUM
5.5
CVSS Score
Published: September 5, 2025 at 05:20 PM UTC
Updated: October 19, 2026 at 09:10 PM UTC
3 products affected across 3 vendorsLinux KernelDebian LinuxSIMATIC CN 4100

Using Linux by Linux?

Get instant alerts when new vulnerabilities affect Linux - before attackers find them.

Real-time alertsTrack your software stackFree plan available
Severity
MEDIUM5.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gve: prevent ethtool ops after shutdown A crash can occur if an ethtool operation is invoked after shutdown() is called. shutdown() is invoked during system shutdown to stop DMA operations without performing expensive deallocations. It is discouraged to unregister the netdev in this path, so the device may still be visible to userspace and kernel helpers. In gve, shutdown() tears down most internal data structures. If an ethtool operation is dispatched after shutdown(), it will dereference freed or NULL pointers, leading to a kernel panic. While graceful shutdown normally quiesces userspace before invoking the reboot syscall, forced shutdowns (as observed on GCP VMs) can still trigger this path. Fix by calling netif_device_detach() in shutdown(). This marks the device as detached so the ethtool ioctl handler will skip dispatching operations to the driver.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

5.17 ≤ v < 6.1.1496.13 ≤ v < 6.16.46.2 ≤ v < 6.6.1036.7 ≤ v < 6.12.446.176.17 rc16.17 rc2974365e518617c9ce917f61aacbba07e4bedcca0
Vendor states this is fixed in 48a4e89d50e8ea52e800bc7865970b92fcf4647c (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 75a9a46d67f46d608205888f9b34e315c1786345 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 9d8a41e9a4ff83ff666de811e7f012167cdc00e9 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in a7efffeecb881b4649fdc30de020ef910f35d646 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in ba51d73408edf815cbaeab148625576c2dd90192 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.17 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.1.149 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.12.44 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.16.4 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.17 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.6.103 (unaffected)
v < V5.0
Affected range stops below V5.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

References (7)

Patch
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48a4e89d50e8ea52e800bc7865970b92fcf4647c
Patch
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/75a9a46d67f46d608205888f9b34e315c1786345
Patch
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9d8a41e9a4ff83ff666de811e7f012167cdc00e9
Patch
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7efffeecb881b4649fdc30de020ef910f35d646
Patch
Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba51d73408edf815cbaeab148625576c2dd90192
Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
Source: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html
Source: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-032379.html

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-476

Get alerted

Stop reading CVE feeds looking for your own stack

Track the products you run and VulnTracker tells you when a new CVE affects them — with what is known about fixing it, and nothing about the rest.

Free plan, no card