CVE-2025-38520

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/amdkfd: Don't call mmput from MMU notifier callback If the process is exiting, the mmput inside mmu notifier callback from compactd or fork or numa balancing could release the last reference of mm struct to call exit_mmap and free_pgtable, this triggers deadlock with below backtrace. The deadlock will leak kfd process as mmu notifier release is not called and cause VRAM leaking. The fix is to take mm reference mmget_non_zero when adding prange to the deferred list to pair with mmput in deferred list work. If prange split and add into pchild list, the pchild work_item.mm is not used, so remove the mm parameter from svm_range_unmap_split and svm_range_add_child. The backtrace of hung task: INFO: task python:348105 blocked for more than 64512 seconds. Call Trace: __schedule+0x1c3/0x550 schedule+0x46/0xb0 rwsem_down_write_slowpath+0x24b/0x4c0 unlink_anon_vmas+0xb1/0x1c0 free_pgtables+0xa9/0x130 exit_mmap+0xbc/0x1a0 mmput+0x5a/0x140 svm_range_cpu_invalidate_pagetables+0x2b/0x40 [amdgpu] mn_itree_invalidate+0x72/0xc0 __mmu_notifier_invalidate_range_start+0x48/0x60 try_to_unmap_one+0x10fa/0x1400 rmap_walk_anon+0x196/0x460 try_to_unmap+0xbb/0x210 migrate_page_unmap+0x54d/0x7e0 migrate_pages_batch+0x1c3/0xae0 migrate_pages_sync+0x98/0x240 migrate_pages+0x25c/0x520 compact_zone+0x29d/0x590 compact_zone_order+0xb6/0xf0 try_to_compact_pages+0xbe/0x220 __alloc_pages_direct_compact+0x96/0x1a0 __alloc_pages_slowpath+0x410/0x930 __alloc_pages_nodemask+0x3a9/0x3e0 do_huge_pmd_anonymous_page+0xd7/0x3e0 __handle_mm_fault+0x5e3/0x5f0 handle_mm_fault+0xf7/0x2e0 hmm_vma_fault.isra.0+0x4d/0xa0 walk_pmd_range.isra.0+0xa8/0x310 walk_pud_range+0x167/0x240 walk_pgd_range+0x55/0x100 __walk_page_range+0x87/0x90 walk_page_range+0xf6/0x160 hmm_range_fault+0x4f/0x90 amdgpu_hmm_range_get_pages+0x123/0x230 [amdgpu] amdgpu_ttm_tt_get_user_pages+0xb1/0x150 [amdgpu] init_user_pages+0xb1/0x2a0 [amdgpu] amdgpu_amdkfd_gpuvm_alloc_memory_of_gpu+0x543/0x7d0 [amdgpu] kfd_ioctl_alloc_memory_of_gpu+0x24c/0x4e0 [amdgpu] kfd_ioctl+0x29d/0x500 [amdgpu] (cherry picked from commit a29e067bd38946f752b0ef855f3dfff87e77bec7)

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-08-16
Last modified 2026-01-07
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-667

CVE-2025-38520 is a Improper Locking vulnerability

What is Improper Locking?

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.15.49, 5.18.6, 5.19 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.1.148, 6.6.101, 6.12.39, 6.15.7, 6.16 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 5.15.49 ≥ 5.18.6 ≥ 5.19
Fixed in
✓ 6.1.148 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.101 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.39 6.12.x ✓ 6.15.7 6.15.x ✓ 6.16

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-38520 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

5 patch commits total View all on NVD

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2025-38520?

    CVE-2025-38520 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as an Improper Locking flaw (CWE-667) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.15.49 onward and has been patched in 6.1.148, 6.6.101, 6.12.39 and others. CVE-2025-38520 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-38520?

    CVE-2025-38520 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-38520?

    Yes — CVE-2025-38520 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.148, 6.6.101, 6.12.39 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15.49 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-38520 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-38520 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Improper Locking (CWE-667)?

    The product does not properly acquire or release a lock, which can lead to unexpected behaviour. View CWE-667 on MITRE CWE →

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