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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-37903

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.138 / 6.6.90 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
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---

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 5.5, < 6.1.138>= 6.2, < 6.6.90>= 6.7, < 6.12.28>= 6.13, < 6.14.6= 6.15
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.1.138 / 6.6.90 / 6.12.28 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1386.6.906.12.28
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 6.1.138+ (for 6.1.x), 6.6.90+ (for 6.6.x), 6.12.28+ (for 6.12.x), or 6.14.6+ (for 6.14.x). For Debian 11, apply vendor-supplied kernel security update.

  1. 1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. For Debian 11 (Bullseye), check for available kernel updates via `apt update && apt-cache policy linux-image-*`
  3. 3. If a fixed kernel version is available, upgrade using `apt install linux-image-<version>`
  4. 4. Reboot into the new kernel using `systemctl reboot`
  5. 5. Verify the fix is applied by checking `dmesg` for any HDCP-related errors or by confirming the kernel version is >= the fixed release for your branch
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting and could have compatibility implications with third-party kernel modules. Ensure backup and test in staging if possible.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-37903 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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