CVE-2025-38682
- Published: 2025-09-04T16:15:35.910
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
i2c: core: Fix double-free of fwnode in i2c_unregister_device()
Before commit df6d7277e552 (“i2c: core: Do not dereference fwnode in struct
device”), i2c_unregister_device() only called fwnode_handle_put() on
of_node-s in the form of calling of_node_put(client->dev.of_node).
But after this commit the i2c_client’s fwnode now unconditionally gets
fwnode_handle_put() on it.
When the i2c_client has no primary (ACPI / OF) fwnode but it does have
a software fwnode, the software-node will be the primary node and
fwnode_handle_put() will put() it.
But for the software fwnode device_remove_software_node() will also put()
it leading to a double free:
[ 82.665598] ————[ cut here ]————
[ 82.665609] refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free.
[ 82.665808] WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 1502 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xba/0x11
…
[ 82.666830] RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0xba/0x110
…
[ 82.666962]
[ 82.666971] i2c_unregister_device+0x60/0x90
Fix this by not calling fwnode_handle_put() when the primary fwnode is
a software-node.
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How to fix CVE-2025-38682
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i2c: core: Fix double-free of fwnode in i2c_unregister_device() Before commit df6d7277e552 (“i2c: core: Do not dereference fwnode in struct device”), i2c_unregister_device() only called fwnode_handle_put() on of_node-s in the form of calling of_node_put(client->dev.of_node). But after this commit the i2c_client’s fwnode now unconditionally gets fwnode_handle_put() on it. […]
Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public
How to Fix:
- Check if you're running the affected product
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
Exploit Difficulty Assessment
Vulnerability Timeline
CVE details first published to NVD database
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