VULNpocalypse

CVE-2025-38352: Linux Kernel Time-of-Check Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Condition Vulnerability

Advisory generated from the CVE record, CISA, Exploit Observer and VEDAS: what it is, whether it is exploited, who is affected, and how to fix and detect it.

Generated by VEDAS. Scores as of 2026-11-01 19:19 UTC. Rebuilt every few hours from cve-scores, CISA KEV and vedas-signatures. How this works and its limits.

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: posix-cpu-timers: fix race between handle_posix_cpu_timers() and posix_cpu_timer_del() If an exiting non-autoreaping task has already passed exit_notify() and calls handle_posix_cpu_timers() from IRQ, it can be reaped by its parent or debugger right after unlock_task_sighand(). If a concurrent posix_cpu_timer_del() runs at that moment, it won’t be able to detect timer->it.cpu.firing != 0: cpu_timer_task_rcu() and/or lock_task_sighand() will fail. Add the tsk->exit_state check into run_posix_cpu_timers() to fix this. This fix is not needed if CONFIG_POSIX_CPU_TIMERS_TASK_WORK=y, because exit_task_work() is called before exit_notify(). But the check still makes sense, task_work_add(&tsk->posix_cputimers_work.work) will fail anyway in this case.

Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by Linux, published 2025-07-22).

Weakness: CWE-367 Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

How it can be exploited

Exploitable with local access with low attack complexity needing low privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA assesses exploitation as active. Automatable: no. Technical impact: total.

On CISA KEV since
2025-09-04
US federal deadline
2025-09-25
Ransomware use
Not known

Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)

Also known as: BDU:2025-10870, CNNVD-202507-2859, EUVD-2025-22297, GHSA-mr4j-mh66-4679, SNYK-AMZN2-KERNELTOOLSDEVEL-12508430, SNYK-CENTOS7-KERNELDOC-10877038, SNYK-CENTOS8-KERNELHEADERS-10876878, SNYK-CENTOS8-KERNELMODULESINTERNAL-10876884, SNYK-CENTOS8-KERNELRTKVM-10876892, SNYK-CENTOS8-PYTHON3PERF-10876912, SNYK-CENTOS9-KERNEL64KDEBUGDEVEL-10875659, SNYK-CENTOS9-KERNELDEBUGMODULESCORE-10875823, SNYK-RHEL10-KERNELZFCPDUMPDEVEL-10917573, SNYK-ROCKY9-KERNEL64KMODULESEXTRA-13514531, SNYK-ROCKY9-KERNELDEBUGMODULESCORE-13514571

VEDAS cluster: VEDAS:ARTICHOKEALLIGATOR

Exploit Observer links 3 pieces of public exploit code or detection modules that name this CVE or one of its aliases.

Exploit code and modules (3)

Code that names this CVE. A repository can be a working exploit, a scanner, a fake or malware; read it before running anything.

Vulnerability databases and vendor advisories (23)

Catalogue entries, not exploit evidence.

189 more references returned by Exploit Observer did not name this CVE or an alias, so they are left out.

VEDAS data as of 2026-11-01T17:12 UTC; fetched 2026-11-02.

Live scores

EPSS
0.014
some chance of attack soon
VEDAS
0.969
strong exploit evidence
On CISA KEV
Yes, since 2025-09-04
Detection rule
None yet
EPSS (chance of attack)
10No cve-scores data 2026-02-22 to 2026-08-08no data0.1Added to CISA KEV 2025-09-04CVE-2025-38352 EPSS over time2025-072026-11-01
VEDAS (exploit evidence)
10No cve-scores data 2026-02-22 to 2026-08-08no data0.9Added to CISA KEV 2025-09-04CVE-2025-38352 VEDAS over time2025-072026-11-01

Thin horizontal line: the “likely” (EPSS 0.10) or “strong” (VEDAS 0.90) threshold. Shaded “no data” areas are periods when cve-scores did not publish. The vertical line is the day CISA added it to its exploited list.

Who is affected

ProductAffectedNot affected
Linux Linuxfrom 0bdd2ed4138e before 78a4b8e3795b (git commit)
from 0bdd2ed4138e before c076635b3a42 (git commit)
from 0bdd2ed4138e before 2f3daa04a932 (git commit)
from 0bdd2ed4138e before 764a7a5dfda2 (git commit)
from 0bdd2ed4138e before 2c72fe18cc5f (git commit)
from 0bdd2ed4138e before c29d5318708e (git commit)
from 0bdd2ed4138e before 460188bc042a (git commit)
from 0bdd2ed4138e before f90fff1e152d (git commit)		Not stated
Linux Linuxversion 2.6.360 is not affected (up to 2.6.36); 5.4.295 is not affected; 5.10.239 is not affected; 5.15.186 is not affected

Version ranges exactly as the CVE record states them. “Before X” means X is the first fixed version.

Exploit Observer also maps it to: debian debian_linux, linux linux_kernel.

How to fix it

CISA required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Vendor guidance:

How to detect it

There is no open VEDAS detection rule for this bug yet. It is listed on the detection gaps page if CISA has confirmed attacks.

References

Exploits and technical analysis

Government sources

Other references

Other databases

Where this comes from

This advisory is generated automatically by VEDAS from: CVE.org record, CISA KEV, cve-scores (EPSS and VEDAS), Exploit Observer. Text in quotes is reproduced from the source; everything else is a fixed template filled with source fields. Nothing here is written by a language model. Check the vendor advisory before acting, and read how VEDAS and Exploit Observer work, and their limits.