Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38176

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.14.11 / 6.15.2 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: binder: fix use-after-free in binderfs_evict_inode() Running 'stress-ng --binderfs 16 --timeout 300' under KASAN-enabled kernel, I've noticed the following: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in binderfs_evict_inode+0x1de/0x2d0 Write of size 8 at addr ffff88807379bc08 by task stress-ng-binde/1699 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 1699 Comm: stress-ng-binde Not tainted 6.14.0-rc7-g586de92313fc-dirty #13 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-3.fc41 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x1c2/0x2a0 ? __pfx_dump_stack_lvl+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx__printk+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x18c/0x540 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x469/0x540 print_report+0x155/0x840 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x18c/0x540 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x469/0x540 ? __phys_addr+0xba/0x170 ? binderfs_evict_inode+0x1de/0x2d0 kasan_report+0x147/0x180 ? binderfs_evict_inode+0x1de/0x2d0 binderfs_evict_inode+0x1de/0x2d0 ? __pfx_binderfs_evict_inode+0x10/0x10 evict+0x524/0x9f0 ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_evict+0x10/0x10 ? do_raw_spin_unlock+0x4d/0x210 ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x28/0x50 ? iput+0x697/0x9b0 __dentry_kill+0x209/0x660 ? shrink_kill+0x8d/0x2c0 shrink_kill+0xa9/0x2c0 shrink_dentry_list+0x2e0/0x5e0 shrink_dcache_parent+0xa2/0x2c0 ? __pfx_shrink_dcache_parent+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_do_raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10 do_one_tree+0x23/0xe0 shrink_dcache_for_umount+0xa0/0x170 generic_shutdown_super+0x67/0x390 kill_litter_super+0x76/0xb0 binderfs_kill_super+0x44/0x90 deactivate_locked_super+0xb9/0x130 cleanup_mnt+0x422/0x4c0 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x9d/0x150 task_work_run+0x1d2/0x260 ? __pfx_task_work_run+0x10/0x10 resume_user_mode_work+0x52/0x60 syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x9a/0x120 do_syscall_64+0x103/0x210 ? asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x1a/0x20 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0xcac57b Code: c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 f3 0f 1e fa 31 f6 e9 05 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa b8 RSP: 002b:00007ffecf4226a8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 00000000000000a6 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 00007ffecf422720 RCX: 0000000000cac57b RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 00007ffecf422850 RBP: 00007ffecf422850 R08: 0000000028d06ab1 R09: 7fffffffffffffff R10: 3fffffffffffffff R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007ffecf422718 R13: 00007ffecf422710 R14: 00007f478f87b658 R15: 00007ffecf422830 </TASK> Allocated by task 1705: kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0 __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x213/0x3e0 binderfs_binder_device_create+0x183/0xa80 binder_ctl_ioctl+0x138/0x190 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x120/0x1b0 do_syscall_64+0xf6/0x210 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Freed by task 1705: kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 kasan_save_free_info+0x46/0x50 __kasan_slab_free+0x62/0x70 kfree+0x194/0x440 evict+0x524/0x9f0 do_unlinkat+0x390/0x5b0 __x64_sys_unlink+0x47/0x50 do_syscall_64+0xf6/0x210 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f This 'stress-ng' workload causes the concurrent deletions from 'binder_devices' and so requires full-featured synchronization to prevent list corruption. I've found this issue independently but pretty sure that syzbot did the same, so Reported-by: and Closes: should be applicable here as well.

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:>= 6.14.1, < 6.14.11>= 6.15, < 6.15.2= 6.14

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 6.14.11 / 6.15.2 or later
Fixed in 6.14.116.15.2
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.14.11+ or 6.15.2+

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.14.11 or later if running 6.14.x
  2. If running 6.15.x, upgrade to kernel version 6.15.2 or later
  3. Alternatively, apply the vendor patch commit 80ed8ab8efa0d18c03968a2321154f10e2d1a2e3 to the kernel source and rebuild
  4. After kernel upgrade/patch, verify the binderfs module loads correctly and test binderfs functionality
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility impacts with custom kernel modules or specific hardware drivers

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

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-38176 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2025-38176 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data