CVE-2025-15638
Critical flaw in Net::Dropbear <0.14 via libtomcrypt; potential RCE.
Is CVE-2025-15638 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2025-15638 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.57% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2025-15638?
CVE-2025-15638 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 10.0. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2025-15638?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2025-15638. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2025-15638 affect?
CVE-2025-15638 affects Net::Dropbear < 0.14 (Perl), libtomcrypt <= 1.18.1, Dropbear 2019.78 or earlier. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2025-15638?
Upgrade to Net::Dropbear 0.14+ and libtomcrypt 1.18.2+; apply security updates.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Remote code execution via vulnerable libtomcrypt in Net::Dropbear, enabling arbitrary code on SSH-enabled devices.
Patch when possible
- affected< 0.14
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.