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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-71162

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.249 / 5.15.199 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: dmaengine: tegra-adma: Fix use-after-free A use-after-free bug exists in the Tegra ADMA driver when audio streams are terminated, particularly during XRUN conditions. The issue occurs when the DMA buffer is freed by tegra_adma_terminate_all() before the vchan completion tasklet finishes accessing it. The race condition follows this sequence: 1. DMA transfer completes, triggering an interrupt that schedules the completion tasklet (tasklet has not executed yet) 2. Audio playback stops, calling tegra_adma_terminate_all() which frees the DMA buffer memory via kfree() 3. The scheduled tasklet finally executes, calling vchan_complete() which attempts to access the already-freed memory Since tasklets can execute at any time after being scheduled, there is no guarantee that the buffer will remain valid when vchan_complete() runs. Fix this by properly synchronizing the virtual channel completion: - Calling vchan_terminate_vdesc() in tegra_adma_stop() to mark the descriptors as terminated instead of freeing the descriptor. - Add the callback tegra_adma_synchronize() that calls vchan_synchronize() which kills any pending tasklets and frees any terminated descriptors. Crash logs: [ 337.427523] BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in vchan_complete+0x124/0x3b0 [ 337.427544] Read of size 8 at addr ffff000132055428 by task swapper/0/0 [ 337.427562] Call trace: [ 337.427564] dump_backtrace+0x0/0x320 [ 337.427571] show_stack+0x20/0x30 [ 337.427575] dump_stack_lvl+0x68/0x84 [ 337.427584] print_address_description.constprop.0+0x74/0x2b8 [ 337.427590] kasan_report+0x1f4/0x210 [ 337.427598] __asan_load8+0xa0/0xd0 [ 337.427603] vchan_complete+0x124/0x3b0 [ 337.427609] tasklet_action_common.constprop.0+0x190/0x1d0 [ 337.427617] tasklet_action+0x30/0x40 [ 337.427623] __do_softirq+0x1a0/0x5c4 [ 337.427628] irq_exit+0x110/0x140 [ 337.427633] handle_domain_irq+0xa4/0xe0 [ 337.427640] gic_handle_irq+0x64/0x160 [ 337.427644] call_on_irq_stack+0x20/0x4c [ 337.427649] do_interrupt_handler+0x7c/0x90 [ 337.427654] el1_interrupt+0x30/0x80 [ 337.427659] el1h_64_irq_handler+0x18/0x30 [ 337.427663] el1h_64_irq+0x7c/0x80 [ 337.427667] cpuidle_enter_state+0xe4/0x540 [ 337.427674] cpuidle_enter+0x54/0x80 [ 337.427679] do_idle+0x2e0/0x380 [ 337.427685] cpu_startup_entry+0x2c/0x70 [ 337.427690] rest_init+0x114/0x130 [ 337.427695] arch_call_rest_init+0x18/0x24 [ 337.427702] start_kernel+0x380/0x3b4 [ 337.427706] __primary_switched+0xc0/0xc8

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:>= 4.7, < 5.10.249>= 5.11, < 5.15.199>= 5.16, < 6.1.162>= 6.2, < 6.6.122>= 6.7, < 6.12.67>= 6.13, < 6.18.7= 6.19

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 5.10.249 / 5.15.199 / 6.1.162 or later
Fixed in 5.10.2495.15.1996.1.162
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to one of the fixed kernel releases: 5.10.249, 5.15.199, 6.1.162, or 6.6.122 (or later stable releases)

  1. 1. Locate the tegra-adma.c driver file in the Linux kernel source tree (typically in drivers/dma/ or drivers/dma/tegra/ )
  2. 2. Apply the vendor patch from commit 2efd07a7c36949e6fa36a69183df24d368bf9e96, or manually implement the fix by:
  3. 3. In the tegra_adma_stop() function, replace the code that frees descriptors directly with a call to vchan_terminate_vdesc() to properly mark descriptors as terminated instead of freeing them
  4. 4. Add a new callback function tegra_adma_synchronize() that calls vchan_synchronize() to kill any pending tasklets and free terminated descriptors
  5. 5. Ensure the .synchronize field in the dma_device structure points to tegra_adma_synchronize()
  6. 6. Rebuild the kernel with the modified driver
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree modules; ensure all device drivers and firmware are compatible with the target version

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

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