Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2025-38714: Linux Kernel HFS+ slab-out-of-bounds read in hfsplus_bnode_read

CVE-2025-38714 · Severity: high · CVSS 7.8 · Published 2025-09-04

Technologies: Linux Kernel. Vendors: Linux.

Executive brief

A vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's HFS+ file system driver, which is used to read and write disks formatted for Apple computers. An attacker with local access to the system could exploit this flaw to cause a system crash or potentially access sensitive information from the computer's memory. This could lead to a loss of system availability or unauthorized data exposure.

Technical details

A slab-out-of-bounds read vulnerability was identified in the hfsplus_bnode_read() function within the Linux kernel's HFS+ file system implementation. The issue occurs when the kernel attempts to read data from a B-tree node (bnode) during operations such as hfsplus_delete_cat() or hfsplus_unlink(). KASAN reports indicate a read of size 8 beyond the allocated slab region in kmalloc-192. This is a local vulnerability requiring the ability to perform file system operations on an HFS+ volume. Successful exploitation can result in a kernel oops/denial of service or local information disclosure. Patches have been released across multiple stable kernel branches.

Affected products

  • Linux Linux Kernel 6.16.0-rc3

Timeline

  • 2025-09-04: advisory: CVE published in NVD
  • 2025-08-28: patched: Fix committed to Linux stable tree

References

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