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CVE-2025-38089 is an improper error-handling vulnerability in the Linux kernel SunRPC server authentication path. A specially crafted RPC packet can cause svc_authenticate or pg_authenticate to return SVC_GARBAGE without initializing rq_accept_statp. The server incorrectly handles this authentication failure by preparing a GARBAGE_ARGS reply, potentially dereferencing and writing through the unset pointer. On a thread's first RPC request, the pointer is NULL and the kernel crashes; in other circumstances, the write can corrupt memory. The correction rejects the authentication failure as AUTH_ERROR with reason AUTH_BADCRED, avoiding the invalid pointer access.
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1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository contains a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2025-38089, a remote denial-of-service vulnerability in the Linux kernel's NFS server (introduced in version 6.3 and fixed in 6.16). The exploit is implemented in a single Python script (poc.py) using the Scapy library to craft and send a malicious NFSv4 EXCHANGE_ID RPC request over TCP to the target NFS server (default port 2049). The script performs a TCP handshake, constructs the required RPC and NFS payloads, and sends the crafted packet to trigger a kernel null pointer dereference (and potentially a use-after-free), resulting in a kernel crash. The README provides clear usage instructions, including the need to drop outgoing TCP RST packets to maintain the connection. The repository is structured simply, with a license, a detailed README, and the exploit script. No hardcoded credentials or external endpoints are present beyond the example IPs and standard NFS port.
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16 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Listed as one of 573 vulnerabilities addressed by SUSE-SU-2026:20560-1 for kernel packages in SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.2.
Linux kernel SunRPC service-authentication handling flaw involving SVC_GARBAGE responses.
A Linux kernel SunRPC authentication-processing issue involving SVC_GARBAGE handling.
A Linux kernel SunRPC authentication-processing vulnerability concerning handling of SVC_GARBAGE, addressed by the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 kernel security update.
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Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.