CVE-2025-40037
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbdev: simplefb: Fix use after free in simplefb_detach_genpds() The pm_domain cleanup can not be devres managed as it uses struct simplefb_par which is allocated within struct fb_info by framebuffer_alloc(). This allocation is explicitly freed by unregister_framebuffer() in simplefb_remove(). Devres managed cleanup runs after the device remove call and thus can no longer access struct simplefb_par. Call simplefb_detach_genpds() explicitly from simplefb_destroy() like the cleanup functions for clocks and regulators. Fixes an use after free on M2 Mac mini during aperture_remove_conflicting_devices() using the downstream asahi kernel with Debian's kernel config. For unknown reasons this started to consistently dereference an invalid pointer in v6.16.3 based kernels. [ 6.736134] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in simplefb_detach_genpds+0x58/0x220 [ 6.743545] Read of size 4 at addr ffff8000304743f0 by task (udev-worker)/227 [ 6.750697] [ 6.752182] CPU: 6 UID: 0 PID: 227 Comm: (udev-worker) Tainted: G S 6.16.3-asahi+ #16 PREEMPTLAZY [ 6.752186] Tainted: [S]=CPU_OUT_OF_SPEC [ 6.752187] Hardware name: Apple Mac mini (M2, 2023) (DT) [ 6.752189] Call trace: [ 6.752190] show_stack+0x34/0x98 (C) [ 6.752194] dump_stack_lvl+0x60/0x80 [ 6.752197] print_report+0x17c/0x4d8 [ 6.752201] kasan_report+0xb4/0x100 [ 6.752206] __asan_report_load4_noabort+0x20/0x30 [ 6.752209] simplefb_detach_genpds+0x58/0x220 [ 6.752213] devm_action_release+0x50/0x98 [ 6.752216] release_nodes+0xd0/0x2c8 [ 6.752219] devres_release_all+0xfc/0x178 [ 6.752221] device_unbind_cleanup+0x28/0x168 [ 6.752224] device_release_driver_internal+0x34c/0x470 [ 6.752228] device_release_driver+0x20/0x38 [ 6.752231] bus_remove_device+0x1b0/0x380 [ 6.752234] device_del+0x314/0x820 [ 6.752238] platform_device_del+0x3c/0x1e8 [ 6.752242] platform_device_unregister+0x20/0x50 [ 6.752246] aperture_detach_platform_device+0x1c/0x30 [ 6.752250] aperture_detach_devices+0x16c/0x290 [ 6.752253] aperture_remove_conflicting_devices+0x34/0x50 ... [ 6.752343] [ 6.967409] Allocated by task 62: [ 6.970724] kasan_save_stack+0x3c/0x70 [ 6.974560] kasan_save_track+0x20/0x40 [ 6.978397] kasan_save_alloc_info+0x40/0x58 [ 6.982670] __kasan_kmalloc+0xd4/0xd8 [ 6.986420] __kmalloc_noprof+0x194/0x540 [ 6.990432] framebuffer_alloc+0xc8/0x130 [ 6.994444] simplefb_probe+0x258/0x2378 ... [ 7.054356] [ 7.055838] Freed by task 227: [ 7.058891] kasan_save_stack+0x3c/0x70 [ 7.062727] kasan_save_track+0x20/0x40 [ 7.066565] kasan_save_free_info+0x4c/0x80 [ 7.070751] __kasan_slab_free+0x6c/0xa0 [ 7.074675] kfree+0x10c/0x380 [ 7.077727] framebuffer_release+0x5c/0x90 [ 7.081826] simplefb_destroy+0x1b4/0x2c0 [ 7.085837] put_fb_info+0x98/0x100 [ 7.089326] unregister_framebuffer+0x178/0x320 [ 7.093861] simplefb_remove+0x3c/0x60 [ 7.097611] platform_remove+0x60/0x98 [ 7.101361] device_remove+0xb8/0x160 [ 7.105024] device_release_driver_internal+0x2fc/0x470 [ 7.110256] device_release_driver+0x20/0x38 [ 7.114529] bus_remove_device+0x1b0/0x380 [ 7.118628] device_del+0x314/0x820 [ 7.122116] platform_device_del+0x3c/0x1e8 [ 7.126302] platform_device_unregister+0x20/0x50 [ 7.131012] aperture_detach_platform_device+0x1c/0x30 [ 7.136157] aperture_detach_devices+0x16c/0x290 [ 7.140779] aperture_remove_conflicting_devices+0x34/0x50 ...
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.8
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.12.53,
6.17.3,
6.18
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-40037 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b1deb39cfd614fb2f278b71011692a8dbf0f05ba
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6ff0d8de8452ec0e18e5bd7394c2a23e7ff7353
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da1bb9135213744e7ec398826c8f2e843de4fb94
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2025-40037?
CVE-2025-40037 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.8 onward and has been patched in 6.12.53, 6.17.3 and 6.18. CVE-2025-40037 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-40037?
Yes — CVE-2025-40037 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.53, 6.17.3 and 6.18. If you are running Linux kernel 6.8 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2025-40037 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2025-40037 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.