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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-38594

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-19
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
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: iommu/vt-d: Fix UAF on sva unbind with pending IOPFs Commit 17fce9d2336d ("iommu/vt-d: Put iopf enablement in domain attach path") disables IOPF on device by removing the device from its IOMMU's IOPF queue when the last IOPF-capable domain is detached from the device. Unfortunately, it did this in a wrong place where there are still pending IOPFs. As a result, a use-after-free error is potentially triggered and eventually a kernel panic with a kernel trace similar to the following: refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 313 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xd8/0xe0 Workqueue: iopf_queue/dmar0-iopfq iommu_sva_handle_iopf Call Trace: <TASK> iopf_free_group+0xe/0x20 process_one_work+0x197/0x3d0 worker_thread+0x23a/0x350 ? rescuer_thread+0x4a0/0x4a0 kthread+0xf8/0x230 ? finish_task_switch.isra.0+0x81/0x260 ? kthreads_online_cpu+0x110/0x110 ? kthreads_online_cpu+0x110/0x110 ret_from_fork+0x13b/0x170 ? kthreads_online_cpu+0x110/0x110 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK> ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- The intel_pasid_tear_down_entry() function is responsible for blocking hardware from generating new page faults and flushing all in-flight ones. Therefore, moving iopf_for_domain_remove() after this function should resolve this.

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:= 6.16

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.17 or later stable release containing commit c68332b7ee893292bba6e87d31ef2080c066c65d

  1. 1. Identify the current kernel version running on affected systems using 'uname -r'
  2. 2. Obtain a kernel upgrade to a version that includes the fix commit c68332b7ee893292bba6e87d31ef2080c066c65d
  3. 3. For production systems: Before deploying, test the new kernel in a staging environment to ensure compatibility with hardware and existing workloads
  4. 4. Schedule a maintenance window for the kernel upgrade
  5. 5. After upgrading, verify the fix is applied by checking that 'intel_pasid_tear_down_entry()' is called before 'iopf_for_domain_remove()' in the source code (if auditing is required)
  6. 6. Monitor system logs for any recurrence of the UAF/underflow warnings
Caveat Kernel upgrades may introduce regressions with specific hardware combinations; regression testing recommended

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

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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-2025-38594 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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