Vulnerability Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drbd: add missing kref_get in handle_write_conflicts With `two-primaries` enabled, DRBD tries to detect "concurrent" writes and handle write conflicts, so that even if you write to the same sector simultaneously on both nodes, they end up with the identical data once the writes are completed. In handling "superseeded" writes, we forgot a kref_get, resulting in a premature drbd_destroy_device and use after free, and further to kernel crashes with symptoms. Relevance: No one should use DRBD as a random data generator, and apparently all users of "two-primaries" handle concurrent writes correctly on layer up. That is cluster file systems use some distributed lock manager, and live migration in virtualization environments stops writes on one node before starting writes on the other node. Which means that other than for "test cases", this code path is never taken in real life. FYI, in DRBD 9, things are handled differently nowadays. We still detect "write conflicts", but no longer try to be smart about them. We decided to disconnect hard instead: upper layers must not submit concurrent writes. If they do, that's their fault.
CVSS Score
HIGH
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 4.5, < 5.4.297 |
| Debian | Debian Linux | 11.0 |
Related Weaknesses (CWE)
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/00c9c9628b49e368d140cfa61d7df9b8922ec2a8Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0336bfe9c237476bd7c45605a36ca79c2bca62e5Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a896498f6f577e57bf26aaa93b48c22b6d20c20Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46e3763dcae0ffcf8fcfaff4fc10a90a92ffdd89Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/57418de35420cedab035aa1da8a26c0499b7f575Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7d483ad300fc0a06f69b019dda8f74970714baf8Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/810cd546a29bfac90ed1328ea01d693d4bd11cb1Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84ef8dd3238330d1795745ece83b19f0295751bfPatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9f53b2433ad248cd3342cc345f56f5c7904bd8c4Patch
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00007.htmlMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.htmlMailing ListThird Party Advisory
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-032379.html
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html
FAQ
What is CVE-2025-38708?
CVE-2025-38708 is a vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drbd: add missing kref_get in handle_write_conflicts With `two-primaries` enabled, DRBD tries to detect "concurrent" writes and ha...
How severe is CVE-2025-38708?
CVE-2025-38708 has been rated HIGH with a CVSS base score of 7.8/10. Review the CVSS metrics above for detailed severity breakdown.
Is there a patch for CVE-2025-38708?
Check the references section above for vendor advisories and patch information. Affected products include: Linux Linux Kernel, Debian Debian Linux.