CVE-2025-38574
Description
From CVE.org
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pptp: ensure minimal skb length in pptp_xmit() Commit aabc6596ffb3 ("net: ppp: Add bound checking for skb data on ppp_sync_txmung") fixed ppp_sync_txmunge() We need a similar fix in pptp_xmit(), otherwise we might read uninit data as reported by syzbot. BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in pptp_xmit+0xc34/0x2720 drivers/net/ppp/pptp.c:193 pptp_xmit+0xc34/0x2720 drivers/net/ppp/pptp.c:193 ppp_channel_bridge_input drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c:2290 [inline] ppp_input+0x1d6/0xe60 drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c:2314 pppoe_rcv_core+0x1e8/0x760 drivers/net/ppp/pppoe.c:379 sk_backlog_rcv+0x142/0x420 include/net/sock.h:1148 __release_sock+0x1d3/0x330 net/core/sock.c:3213 release_sock+0x6b/0x270 net/core/sock.c:3767 pppoe_sendmsg+0x15d/0xcb0 drivers/net/ppp/pppoe.c:904 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:712 [inline] __sock_sendmsg+0x330/0x3d0 net/socket.c:727 ____sys_sendmsg+0x893/0xd80 net/socket.c:2566 ___sys_sendmsg+0x271/0x3b0 net/socket.c:2620 __sys_sendmmsg+0x2d9/0x7c0 net/socket.c:2709
Statement
This issue in pptp_xmit() stems from insufficient validation of the skb length before accessing protocol fields, which could result in reading uninitialized memory. The flaw is only reachable locally through crafted PPP/PPTP traffic, requiring low privileges to trigger. While it does not impact confidentiality or integrity, it could lead to system instability or denial of service (availability impact only).
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | 7.8 | 8.6 |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | None |
| User Interaction | None | None | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | High | Low |
| Integrity Impact | None | High | Low |
| Availability Impact | High | High | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability,Integrity,Other
Technical Impact: Other
Initial variables usually contain junk, which can not be trusted for consistency. This can lead to denial of service conditions, or modify control flow in unexpected ways. In some cases, an attacker can "pre-initialize" the variable using previous actions, which might enable code execution. This can cause a race condition if a lock variable check passes when it should not.
Authorization,Other
Technical Impact: Other
Strings that are not initialized are especially dangerous, since many functions expect a null at the end -- and only at the end -- of a string.
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