Highly exploitable, CVE-2025-38176 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Analyzed
Last updated: 🕘 19 Nov 2025, 21:03 UTC
Originally published on: 🕚 04 Jul 2025, 11:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 138 days
CVSS Release: version 3
nvd@nist.gov
Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVE-2025-38176: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: binder: fix use-after-free in binderfs_evict_inode() Running 'stress-ng --binderfs 16 --timeout 300' under KASAN-enabled kernel, I've noticed the following: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in binderfs_evict_inode+0x1de/0x2d0 Write of size 8 at addr ffff88807379bc08 by task stress-ng-binde/1699 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 1699 Comm: stress-ng-binde Not tainted 6.14.0-rc7-g586de92313fc-dirty #13 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-3.fc41 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x1c2/0x2a0 ? __pfx_dump_stack_lvl+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx__printk+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x18c/0x540 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x469/0x540 print_report+0x155/0x840 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x18c/0x540 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x469/0x540 ? __phys_addr+0xba/0x170 ? binderfs_evict_inode+0x1de/0x2d0 kasan_report+0x147/0x180 ? binderfs_evict_inode+0x1de/0x2d0 binderfs_evict_inode+0x1de/0x2d0 ? __pfx_binderfs_evict_inode+0x10/0x10 evict+0x524/0x9f0 ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_evict+0x10/0x10 ? do_raw_spin_unlock+0x4d/0x210 ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x28/0x50 ? iput+0x697/0x9b0 __dentry_kill+0x209/0x660 ? shrink_kill+0x8d/0x2c0 shrink_kill+0xa9/0x2c0 shrink_dentry_list+0x2e0/0x5e0 shrink_dcache_parent+0xa2/0x2c0 ? __pfx_shrink_dcache_parent+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_lock_release+0x10/0x10 ? __pfx_do_raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10 do_one_tree+0x23/0xe0 shrink_dcache_for_umount+0xa0/0x170 generic_shutdown_super+0x67/0x390 kill_litter_super+0x76/0xb0 binderfs_kill_super+0x44/0x90 deactivate_locked_super+0xb9/0x130 cleanup_mnt+0x422/0x4c0 ? lockdep_hardirqs_on+0x9d/0x150 task_work_run+0x1d2/0x260 ? __pfx_task_work_run+0x10/0x10 resume_user_mode_work+0x52/0x60 syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0x9a/0x120 do_syscall_64+0x103/0x210 ? asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x1a/0x20 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0xcac57b Code: c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 f3 0f 1e fa 31 f6 e9 05 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 f3 0f 1e fa b8 RSP: 002b:00007ffecf4226a8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 00000000000000a6 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 00007ffecf422720 RCX: 0000000000cac57b RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 00007ffecf422850 RBP: 00007ffecf422850 R08: 0000000028d06ab1 R09: 7fffffffffffffff R10: 3fffffffffffffff R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 00007ffecf422718 R13: 00007ffecf422710 R14: 00007f478f87b658 R15: 00007ffecf422830 </TASK> Allocated by task 1705: kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8f/0xa0 __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x213/0x3e0 binderfs_binder_device_create+0x183/0xa80 binder_ctl_ioctl+0x138/0x190 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x120/0x1b0 do_syscall_64+0xf6/0x210 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Freed by task 1705: kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 kasan_save_free_info+0x46/0x50 __kasan_slab_free+0x62/0x70 kfree+0x194/0x440 evict+0x524/0x9f0 do_unlinkat+0x390/0x5b0 __x64_sys_unlink+0x47/0x50 do_syscall_64+0xf6/0x210 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f This 'stress-ng' workload causes the concurrent deletions from 'binder_devices' and so requires full-featured synchronization to prevent list corruption. I've found this issue independently but pretty sure that syzbot did the same, so Reported-by: and Closes: should be applicable here as well.
The exploitability of CVE-2025-38176 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2025-38176 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2025-38176, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2025-38176, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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