Linux Kernel up to 6.12.42/6.15.10/6.16.1 sync_fence use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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7.7$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.42/6.15.10/6.16.1. Impacted is the function sync_fence. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-38703. No exploit exists. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.42/6.15.10/6.16.1 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function sync_fence. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/xe: Make dma-fences compliant with the safe access rules Xe can free some of the data pointed to by the dma-fences it exports. Most notably the timeline name can get freed if userspace closes the associated submit queue. At the same time the fence could have been exported to a third party (for example a sync_fence fd) which will then cause an use- after-free on subsequent access. To make this safe we need to make the driver compliant with the newly documented dma-fence rules. Driver has to ensure a RCU grace period between signalling a fence and freeing any data pointed to by said fence. For the timeline name we simply make the queue be freed via kfree_rcu and for the shared lock associated with multiple queues we add a RCU grace period before freeing the per GT structure holding the lock.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-38703 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation is known 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 261573 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38703), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.43, 6.15.11, 6.16.2 or 6.17-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch b17fcce70733c211cb5dabf54f4f9491920b1d92/ba37807d08bae67de6139346a85650cab5f6145a/683b0e397dad9f26a42dcacf6f7f545a77ce6c06/6bd90e700b4285e6a7541e00f969cab0d696adde 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 (261573) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1976). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

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

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.7

VulDB Base Score: 8.0
VulDB Temp Score: 7.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 261573
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38703

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.12.43/6.15.11/6.16.2/6.17-rc1
Patch: b17fcce70733c211cb5dabf54f4f9491920b1d92/ba37807d08bae67de6139346a85650cab5f6145a/683b0e397dad9f26a42dcacf6f7f545a77ce6c06/6bd90e700b4285e6a7541e00f969cab0d696adde

Timelineinfo

04/16/2025 CVE reserved
09/04/2025 +141 days Advisory disclosed
09/04/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
02/10/2026 +159 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2025-38703 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2025-38703
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-322547
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-1976 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service

Entryinfo

Created: 09/04/2025 18:28
Updated: 02/10/2026 06:48
Changes: 09/04/2025 18:28 (58), 09/05/2025 18:23 (7), 09/07/2025 21:37 (2), 10/08/2025 17:55 (1), 11/24/2025 21:33 (11), 12/09/2025 17:52 (1), 01/15/2026 00:47 (1), 02/10/2026 06:48 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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