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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38062

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.1.141 / 6.6.93 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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: genirq/msi: Store the IOMMU IOVA directly in msi_desc instead of iommu_cookie The IOMMU translation for MSI message addresses has been a 2-step process, separated in time: 1) iommu_dma_prepare_msi(): A cookie pointer containing the IOVA address is stored in the MSI descriptor when an MSI interrupt is allocated. 2) iommu_dma_compose_msi_msg(): this cookie pointer is used to compute a translated message address. This has an inherent lifetime problem for the pointer stored in the cookie that must remain valid between the two steps. However, there is no locking at the irq layer that helps protect the lifetime. Today, this works under the assumption that the iommu domain is not changed while MSI interrupts being programmed. This is true for normal DMA API users within the kernel, as the iommu domain is attached before the driver is probed and cannot be changed while a driver is attached. Classic VFIO type1 also prevented changing the iommu domain while VFIO was running as it does not support changing the "container" after starting up. However, iommufd has improved this so that the iommu domain can be changed during VFIO operation. This potentially allows userspace to directly race VFIO_DEVICE_ATTACH_IOMMUFD_PT (which calls iommu_attach_group()) and VFIO_DEVICE_SET_IRQS (which calls into iommu_dma_compose_msi_msg()). This potentially causes both the cookie pointer and the unlocked call to iommu_get_domain_for_dev() on the MSI translation path to become UAFs. Fix the MSI cookie UAF by removing the cookie pointer. The translated IOVA address is already known during iommu_dma_prepare_msi() and cannot change. Thus, it can simply be stored as an integer in the MSI descriptor. The other UAF related to iommu_get_domain_for_dev() will be addressed in patch "iommu: Make iommu_dma_prepare_msi() into a generic operation" by using the IOMMU group mutex.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 5.2, < 6.1.141>= 6.2, < 6.6.93>= 6.7, < 6.12.31>= 6.13, < 6.14.9
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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 6.1.141 / 6.6.93 / 6.12.31 or later
Fixed in 6.1.1416.6.936.12.31
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.1.141+ / 6.6.93+ / 6.12.31+ / 6.14.9+ (depending on which major version branch you are on); Debian 11.0 should receive updates via standard apt repository

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Based on the current version, determine the minimum fixed release to upgrade to: If kernel is >= 5.2 and < 6.1.141, upgrade to 6.1.141 or later; If kernel is >= 6.2 and < 6.6.93, upgrade to 6.6.93 or later; If kernel is >= 6.7 and < 6.12.31, upgrade to 6.12.31 or later; If kernel is >= 6.13 and < 6.14.9, upgrade to 6.14.9 or later
  3. For Debian 11.0 systems, check available kernel packages via `apt-cache policy linux-image-*` and install a fixed version, or use `apt-get update && apt-get upgrade` to get the latest stable kernel
  4. Reboot the system into the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches the fixed releases above
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting and could have compatibility implications with third-party kernel modules; ensure driver compatibility before upgrading

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 $1,600. 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

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Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-38062 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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