Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2025-37903 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 e25139c4aa5621f2db8e86688c33546cdd885e42, bbc66abcd297be67e3d835276e21e6fdc65205a6, dd329f04dda35a66e0c9ed462ba91bd5f2c8be70 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 0.21% 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 e25139c4aa5621f2db8e86688c33546cdd885e42 or bbc66abcd297be67e3d835276e21e6fdc65205a6 or dd329f04dda35a66e0c9ed462ba91bd5f2c8be70 or 3a782a83d130ceac6c98a87639ddd89640bff486, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 6.1.138 or 6.6.90 or 6.12.28 or 6.14.6, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | da3fd7ac0bcf372cc57117bdfcd725cca7ef975a up to, but not including, e25139c4aa5621f2db8e86688c33546cdd885e42; da3fd7ac0bcf372cc57117bdfcd725cca7ef975a up to, but not including, bbc66abcd297be67e3d835276e21e6fdc65205a6; da3fd7ac0bcf372cc57117bdfcd725cca7ef975a up to, but not including, dd329f04dda35a66e0c9ed462ba91bd5f2c8be70; da3fd7ac0bcf372cc57117bdfcd725cca7ef975a up to, but not including, 3a782a83d130ceac6c98a87639ddd89640bff486; da3fd7ac0bcf372cc57117bdfcd725cca7ef975a up to, but not including, be593d9d91c5a3a363d456b9aceb71029aeb3f1d; 5.5 | e25139c4aa5621f2db8e86688c33546cdd885e42, bbc66abcd297be67e3d835276e21e6fdc65205a6, dd329f04dda35a66e0c9ed462ba91bd5f2c8be70, 3a782a83d130ceac6c98a87639ddd89640bff486, be593d9d91c5a3a363d456b9aceb71029aeb3f1d |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 5.5 up to, but not including, 6.1.138; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.90; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.28; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.14.6; 6.15 | 6.1.138, 6.6.90, 6.12.28, 6.14.6 |
| 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/amd/display: Fix slab-use-after-free in hdcp The HDCP code in amdgpu_dm_hdcp.c copies pointers to amdgpu_dm_connector objects without incrementing the kref reference counts. When using a USB-C dock, and the dock is unplugged, the corresponding amdgpu_dm_connector objects are freed, creating dangling pointers in the HDCP code. When the dock is plugged back, the dangling pointers are dereferenced, resulting in a slab-use-after-free: [ 66.775837] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in event_property_validate+0x42f/0x6c0 [amdgpu] [ 66.776171] Read of size 4 at addr ffff888127804120 by task kworker/0:1/10 [ 66.776179] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 10 Comm: kworker/0:1 Not tainted 6.14.0-rc7-00180-g54505f727a38-dirty #233 [ 66.776183] Hardware name: HP HP Pavilion Aero Laptop 13-be0xxx/8916, BIOS F.17 12/18/2024 [ 66.776186] Workqueue: events event_property_validate [amdgpu] [ 66.776494] Call Trace: [ 66.776496] <TASK> [ 66.776497] dump_stack_lvl+0x70/0xa0 [ 66.776504] print_report+0x175/0x555 [ 66.776507] ? __virt_addr_valid+0x243/0x450 [ 66.776510] ? kasan_complete_mode_report_info+0x66/0x1c0 [ 66.776515] kasan_report+0xeb/0x1c0 [ 66.776518] ? event_property_validate+0x42f/0x6c0 [amdgpu] [ 66.776819] ? event_property_validate+0x42f/0x6c0 [amdgpu] [ 66.777121] __asan_report_load4_noabort+0x14/0x20 [ 66.777124] event_property_validate+0x42f/0x6c0 [amdgpu] [ 66.777342] ? __lock_acquire+0x6b40/0x6b40 [ 66.777347] ? enable_assr+0x250/0x250 [amdgpu] [ 66.777571] process_one_work+0x86b/0x1510 [ 66.777575] ? pwq_dec_nr_in_flight+0xcf0/0xcf0 [ 66.777578] ? assign_work+0x16b/0x280 [ 66.777580] ? lock_is_held_type+0xa3/0x130 [ 66.777583] worker_thread+0x5c0/0xfa0 [ 66.777587] ? process_one_work+0x1510/0x1510 [ 66.777588] kthread+0x3a2/0x840 [ 66.777591] ? kthread_is_per_cpu+0xd0/0xd0 [ 66.777594] ? trace_hardirqs_on+0x4f/0x60 [ 66.777597] ? _raw_spin_unlock_irq+0x27/0x60 [ 66.777599] ? calculate_sigpending+0x77/0xa0 [ 66.777602] ? kthread_is_per_cpu+0xd0/0xd0 [ 66.777605] ret_from_fork+0x40/0x90 [ 66.777607] ? kthread_is_per_cpu+0xd0/0xd0 [ 66.777609] ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 [ 66.777614] </TASK> [ 66.777643] Allocated by task 10: [ 66.777646] kasan_save_stack+0x39/0x60 [ 66.777649] kasan_save_track+0x14/0x40 [ 66.777652] kasan_save_alloc_info+0x37/0x50 [ 66.777655] __kasan_kmalloc+0xbb/0xc0 [ 66.777658] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x1c8/0x4b0 [ 66.777661] dm_dp_add_mst_connector+0xdd/0x5c0 [amdgpu] [ 66.777880] drm_dp_mst_port_add_connector+0x47e/0x770 [drm_display_helper] [ 66.777892] drm_dp_send_link_address+0x1554/0x2bf0 [drm_display_helper] [ 66.777901] drm_dp_check_and_send_link_address+0x187/0x1f0 [drm_display_helper] [ 66.777909] drm_dp_mst_link_probe_work+0x2b8/0x410 [drm_display_helper] [ 66.777917] process_one_work+0x86b/0x1510 [ 66.777919] worker_thread+0x5c0/0xfa0 [ 66.777922] kthread+0x3a2/0x840 [ 66.777925] ret_from_fork+0x40/0x90 [ 66.777927] ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 [ 66.777932] Freed by task 1713: [ 66.777935] kasan_save_stack+0x39/0x60 [ 66.777938] kasan_save_track+0x14/0x40 [ 66.777940] kasan_save_free_info+0x3b/0x60 [ 66.777944] __kasan_slab_free+0x52/0x70 [ 66.777946] kfree+0x13f/0x4b0 [ 66.777949] dm_dp_mst_connector_destroy+0xfa/0x150 [amdgpu] [ 66.778179] drm_connector_free+0x7d/0xb0 [ 66.778184] drm_mode_object_put.part.0+0xee/0x160 [ 66.778188] drm_mode_object_put+0x37/0x50 [ 66.778191] drm_atomic_state_default_clear+0x220/0xd60 [ 66.778194] __drm_atomic_state_free+0x16e/0x2a0 [ 66.778197] drm_mode_atomic_ioctl+0x15ed/0x2ba0 [ 66.778200] drm_ioctl_kernel+0x17a/0x310 [ 66.778203] drm_ioctl+0x584/0xd10 [ 66.778206] amdgpu_drm_ioctl+0xd2/0x1c0 [amdgpu] [ 66.778375] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x139/0x1a0 [ 66.778378] x64_sys_call+0xee7/0xfb0 [ 66.778381] ---truncated---
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/3a782a83d130ceac6c98a87639ddd89640bff486
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbc66abcd297be67e3d835276e21e6fdc65205a6
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/be593d9d91c5a3a363d456b9aceb71029aeb3f1d
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd329f04dda35a66e0c9ed462ba91bd5f2c8be70
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e25139c4aa5621f2db8e86688c33546cdd885e42
Other references
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
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