CVE-2025-38722
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-09-04

Last updated on: 2025-11-25

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: habanalabs: fix UAF in export_dmabuf() As soon as we'd inserted a file reference into descriptor table, another thread could close it. That's fine for the case when all we are doing is returning that descriptor to userland (it's a race, but it's a userland race and there's nothing the kernel can do about it). However, if we follow fd_install() with any kind of access to objects that would be destroyed on close (be it the struct file itself or anything destroyed by its ->release()), we have a UAF. dma_buf_fd() is a combination of reserving a descriptor and fd_install(). habanalabs export_dmabuf() calls it and then proceeds to access the objects destroyed on close. In particular, it grabs an extra reference to another struct file that will be dropped as part of ->release() for ours; that "will be" is actually "might have already been". Fix that by reserving descriptor before anything else and do fd_install() only when everything had been set up. As a side benefit, we no longer have the failure exit with file already created, but reference to underlying file (as well as ->dmabuf_export_cnt, etc.) not grabbed yet; unlike dma_buf_fd(), fd_install() can't fail.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-09-04
Last Modified
2025-11-25
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-09-04
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2025-38722
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 4 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 6.17
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-416 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 Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
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AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability is a Use-After-Free (UAF) issue in the Linux kernel's habanalabs driver, specifically in the export_dmabuf() function. The problem occurs because after inserting a file reference into the descriptor table, another thread could close it, leading to a race condition. When the code accesses objects that might have been destroyed on close (such as the struct file or related resources), it causes a UAF. The fix involved reserving the descriptor before any other operations and only calling fd_install() after everything is properly set up, preventing access to freed memory.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can lead to a Use-After-Free condition in the kernel, which may cause system instability, crashes, or potentially allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges by exploiting the freed memory access.


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