Linux Kernel up to 6.12.30/6.14.8 hda_generic_machine_select use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.30/6.14.8. It has been classified as critical. The impacted element is the function hda_generic_machine_select. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2025-38056. There is not any exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.30/6.14.8. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function hda_generic_machine_select. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ASoC: SOF: Intel: hda: Fix UAF when reloading module hda_generic_machine_select() appends -idisp to the tplg filename by allocating a new string with devm_kasprintf(), then stores the string right back into the global variable snd_soc_acpi_intel_hda_machines. When the module is unloaded, this memory is freed, resulting in a global variable pointing to freed memory. Reloading the module then triggers a use-after-free: BUG: KFENCE: use-after-free read in string+0x48/0xe0 Use-after-free read at 0x00000000967e0109 (in kfence-#99): string+0x48/0xe0 vsnprintf+0x329/0x6e0 devm_kvasprintf+0x54/0xb0 devm_kasprintf+0x58/0x80 hda_machine_select.cold+0x198/0x17a2 [snd_sof_intel_hda_generic] sof_probe_work+0x7f/0x600 [snd_sof] process_one_work+0x17b/0x330 worker_thread+0x2ce/0x3f0 kthread+0xcf/0x100 ret_from_fork+0x31/0x50 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 kfence-#99: 0x00000000198a940f-0x00000000ace47d9d, size=64, cache=kmalloc-64 allocated by task 333 on cpu 8 at 17.798069s (130.453553s ago): devm_kmalloc+0x52/0x120 devm_kvasprintf+0x66/0xb0 devm_kasprintf+0x58/0x80 hda_machine_select.cold+0x198/0x17a2 [snd_sof_intel_hda_generic] sof_probe_work+0x7f/0x600 [snd_sof] process_one_work+0x17b/0x330 worker_thread+0x2ce/0x3f0 kthread+0xcf/0x100 ret_from_fork+0x31/0x50 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 freed by task 1543 on cpu 4 at 141.586686s (6.665010s ago): release_nodes+0x43/0xb0 devres_release_all+0x90/0xf0 device_unbind_cleanup+0xe/0x70 device_release_driver_internal+0x1c1/0x200 driver_detach+0x48/0x90 bus_remove_driver+0x6d/0xf0 pci_unregister_driver+0x42/0xb0 __do_sys_delete_module+0x1d1/0x310 do_syscall_64+0x82/0x190 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e Fix it by copying the match array with devm_kmemdup_array() before we modify it.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-38056 since 04/16/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/10/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 242347 (Oracle Linux 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2025-20480)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.31 or 6.14.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 2b49e68360eb6a1c03dc1642a51f7d9f6784c034/f9670b2e81e8a3cbf2e1e757190dd0b920a9d43f/7dd7f39fce0022b386ef1ea5ffef92ecc7dfc6af is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (242347), EUVD (EUVD-2025-18597) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1350). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Dell Avamar
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• IBM QRadar SIEM

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.14.0
• 6.14.1
• 6.14.2
• 6.14.3
• 6.14.4
• 6.14.5
• 6.14.6
• 6.14.7
• 6.14.8

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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