CVE-2025-38441: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: flowtable: account for Ethernet header in nf_flow_pppoe

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: flowtable: account for Ethernet header in nf_flow_pppoe_proto() syzbot found a

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: flowtable: account for Ethernet header in nf_flow_pppoe_proto() syzbot found a potential access to uninit-value in nf_flow_pppoe_proto() Blamed commit forgot the Ethernet header. BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in nf_flow_offload_inet_hook+0x7e4/0x940 net/netfilter/nf_flow_table_inet.c:27 nf_flow_offload_inet_hook+0x7e4/0x940 net/netfilter/nf_flow_table_inet.c:27 nf_hook_entry_hookfn include/linux/netfilter.h:157 [inline] nf_hook_slow+0xe1/0x3d0 net/netfilter/core.c:623 nf_hook_ingress include/linux/netfilter_netdev.h:34 [inline] nf_ingress net/core/dev.c:5742 [inline] __netif_receive_skb_core+0x4aff/0x70c0 net/core/dev.c:5837 __netif_receive_skb_one_core net/core/dev.c:5975 [inline] __netif_receive_skb+0xcc/0xac0 net/core/dev.c:6090 netif_receive_skb_internal net/core/dev.c:6176 [inline] netif_receive_skb+0x57/0x630 net/core/dev.c:6235 tun_rx_batched+0x1df/0x980 drivers/net/tun.c:1485 tun_get_user+0x4ee0/0x6b40 drivers/net/tun.c:1938 tun_chr_write_iter+0x3e9/0x5c0 drivers/net/tun.c:1984 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:593 [inline] vfs_write+0xb4b/0x1580 fs/read_write.c:686 ks

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.19%, higher than 8% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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