CVE-2025-38101

What it actually does

Insufficient locking around error paths in ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set allows concurrent modifications to per-CPU ring buffer lists without the per-buffer mutex held, resulting in list corruption and related concurrency failures.

Why it matters to the business

Systems running affected Linux kernels may experience instability, crashes, or corrupted tracing data under concurrent ring-buffer reconfiguration, increasing operational risk and potential downtime for workloads relying on kernel tracing or performance monitoring.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access triggers multiple concurrent invocations of ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set while forcing error conditions in the critical section; without the mutex held during error handling, list pointers become inconsistent, enabling further corruption or denial of service.

How to fix it

Update to a fixed kernel containing commit e09c0600beea469b3ebf974464e526a02d59ad62 or later; Chainguard images cass-operator-fips-no-pvc-delete and cass-operator-fips-no-pvc-delete-compat require version 1.24.0-r1 or newer.

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify the running kernel contains the referenced commit or is built from a version after the fix; inspect ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set for the enlarged mutex-protected critical section covering error handling.

Typical attack path

1. Obtain local code execution or unprivileged access on the target system
2. Identify or trigger ring buffer reconfiguration via subbuf order changes
3. Race multiple threads or processes against the function to hit error paths without proper locking
4. Observe or exploit resulting list corruption for denial of service or further kernel manipulation

How to detect it

Review kernel logs for list corruption warnings or oopses involving ring buffer structures around times of subbuf order changes; audit for unexpected concurrent calls to ring_buffer_subbuf_order_set in system call traces.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize patching production kernels to the fixed commit or package versions listed
• Monitor EPSS trend and re-evaluate if exploit maturity increases
• Restrict unprivileged local access where ring-buffer reconfiguration interfaces are exposed