Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2025-37854 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 57c9dabda80ac167de8cd71231baae37cc2f442d, 89af6b39f028c130d4362f57042927f005423e6a, ffd37d7d44d7e0b6e769d4fe6590e327f8cc3951 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.27% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to 57c9dabda80ac167de8cd71231baae37cc2f442d or 89af6b39f028c130d4362f57042927f005423e6a or ffd37d7d44d7e0b6e769d4fe6590e327f8cc3951 or 6f30a847432cae84c7428e9b684b3e3fa49b2391, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 6.1.135 or 6.6.88 or 6.12.24 or 6.13.12, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | a4c63cafa58b4bd9e15511bab77a4752b93d3aa0 up to, but not including, 57c9dabda80ac167de8cd71231baae37cc2f442d; a4c63cafa58b4bd9e15511bab77a4752b93d3aa0 up to, but not including, 89af6b39f028c130d4362f57042927f005423e6a; a4c63cafa58b4bd9e15511bab77a4752b93d3aa0 up to, but not including, ffd37d7d44d7e0b6e769d4fe6590e327f8cc3951; a4c63cafa58b4bd9e15511bab77a4752b93d3aa0 up to, but not including, 6f30a847432cae84c7428e9b684b3e3fa49b2391; a4c63cafa58b4bd9e15511bab77a4752b93d3aa0 up to, but not including, 9c4bcdf4068aae3e17e31c144300be405cfa03ff; a4c63cafa58b4bd9e15511bab77a4752b93d3aa0 up to, but not including, f0b4440cdc1807bb6ec3dce0d6de81170803569b; 5.18 | 57c9dabda80ac167de8cd71231baae37cc2f442d, 89af6b39f028c130d4362f57042927f005423e6a, ffd37d7d44d7e0b6e769d4fe6590e327f8cc3951, 6f30a847432cae84c7428e9b684b3e3fa49b2391, 9c4bcdf4068aae3e17e31c144300be405cfa03ff, f0b4440cdc1807bb6ec3dce0d6de81170803569b |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 5.18 up to, but not including, 6.1.135; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.88; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.24; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.13.12; 6.14 up to, but not including, 6.14.3 | 6.1.135, 6.6.88, 6.12.24, 6.13.12, 6.14.3 |
| Debian | Debian Linux | 11.0 | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | CNA |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | NVD |
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/amdkfd: Fix mode1 reset crash issue If HW scheduler hangs and mode1 reset is used to recover GPU, KFD signal user space to abort the processes. After process abort exit, user queues still use the GPU to access system memory before h/w is reset while KFD cleanup worker free system memory and free VRAM. There is use-after-free race bug that KFD allocate and reuse the freed system memory, and user queue write to the same system memory to corrupt the data structure and cause driver crash. To fix this race, KFD cleanup worker terminate user queues, then flush reset_domain wq to wait for any GPU ongoing reset complete, and then free outstanding BOs.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/57c9dabda80ac167de8cd71231baae37cc2f442d
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f30a847432cae84c7428e9b684b3e3fa49b2391
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/89af6b39f028c130d4362f57042927f005423e6a
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c4bcdf4068aae3e17e31c144300be405cfa03ff
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0b4440cdc1807bb6ec3dce0d6de81170803569b
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ffd37d7d44d7e0b6e769d4fe6590e327f8cc3951
Other references
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
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