Linux Kernel up to 6.16.3/6.17-rc2 vm_bind_ioctl double free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16.3/6.17-rc2. It has been rated as critical. This vulnerability affects the function vm_bind_ioctl. Performing a manipulation results in double free. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-38731. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16.3/6.17-rc2. This affects the function vm_bind_ioctl. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a double free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-415. The product calls free() twice on the same memory address, potentially leading to modification of unexpected memory locations. 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: drm/xe: Fix vm_bind_ioctl double free bug If the argument check during an array bind fails, the bind_ops are freed twice as seen below. Fix this by setting bind_ops to NULL after freeing. ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: double-free in xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe] Free of addr ffff88813bb9b800 by task xe_vm/14198 CPU: 5 UID: 0 PID: 14198 Comm: xe_vm Not tainted 6.16.0-xe-eudebug-cmanszew+ #520 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Intel Corporation Alder Lake Client Platform/AlderLake-P DDR5 RVP, BIOS ADLPFWI1.R00.2411.A02.2110081023 10/08/2021 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x82/0xd0 print_report+0xcb/0x610 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x19a/0x300 ? xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe] kasan_report_invalid_free+0xc8/0xf0 ? xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe] ? xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe] check_slab_allocation+0x102/0x130 kfree+0x10d/0x440 ? should_fail_ex+0x57/0x2f0 ? xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe] xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe] ? __pfx_xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [xe] ? __lock_acquire+0xab9/0x27f0 ? lock_acquire+0x165/0x300 ? drm_dev_enter+0x53/0xe0 [drm] ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80 ? drm_dev_exit+0x30/0x50 [drm] ? drm_ioctl_kernel+0x128/0x1c0 [drm] drm_ioctl_kernel+0x128/0x1c0 [drm] ? __pfx_xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [xe] ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80 ? __pfx_drm_ioctl_kernel+0x10/0x10 [drm] ? should_fail_ex+0x57/0x2f0 ? __pfx_xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [xe] drm_ioctl+0x352/0x620 [drm] ? __pfx_drm_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [drm] ? __pfx_rpm_resume+0x10/0x10 ? do_raw_spin_lock+0x11a/0x1b0 ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80 ? __pm_runtime_resume+0x61/0xc0 ? rcu_is_watching+0x20/0x50 ? trace_irq_enable.constprop.0+0xac/0xe0 xe_drm_ioctl+0x91/0xc0 [xe] __x64_sys_ioctl+0xb2/0x100 ? rcu_is_watching+0x20/0x50 do_syscall_64+0x68/0x2e0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e RIP: 0033:0x7fa9acb24ded (cherry picked from commit a01b704527c28a2fd43a17a85f8996b75ec8492a)

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-38731 since 04/16/2025. The exploitability is told to be difficult. 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 02/09/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 261601 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-38731), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.16.4 or 6.17-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 77a946bf1af0e8110ef6e243394217a17f9b7e33/111fb43a557726079a67ce3ab51f602ddbf7097e 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 (261601) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-1988). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Google Cloud Platform
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• NetApp FAS
• NetApp AFF
• NetApp ActiveIQ Unified Manager
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Microsoft Azure
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• IBM Security Verify Access
• Dell NetWorker

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.16.0
• 6.16.1
• 6.16.2
• 6.16.3
• 6.17-rc1
• 6.17-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

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