#VU112185 Use-after-free in Linux kernel - CVE-2025-38131

Vulnerability identifier: #VU112185

Vulnerability risk: Low

CVSSv4.0: 5.9 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear]

CVE-ID: CVE-2025-38131

CWE-ID: CWE-416

Exploitation vector: Local

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
Linux kernel
Operating systems & Components / Operating system

Vendor: Linux Foundation

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to a use-after-free error within the EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(), _cscfg_activate_config(), _cscfg_deactivate_config(), cscfg_csdev_enable_active_config() and cscfg_csdev_disable_active_config() functions in drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-syscfg.c. A local user can escalate privileges on the system.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's repository.

Vulnerable software versions

Linux kernel: All versions

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External links
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/31028812724cef7bd57a51525ce58a32a6d73b22
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/408c97c4a5e0b634dcd15bf8b8808b382e888164
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b3b4efa2e623aecaebd7c9b9e4171f5c659e9724
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dfe8224c9c7a43d356eb9f74b06868aa05f90223
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed42ee1ed05ff2f4c36938379057413a40c56680

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?