CVE-2025-38687
- Published: 2025-09-04T16:15:36.700
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
comedi: fix race between polling and detaching
syzbot reports a use-after-free in comedi in the below link, which is
due to comedi gladly removing the allocated async area even though poll
requests are still active on the wait_queue_head inside of it. This can
cause a use-after-free when the poll entries are later triggered or
removed, as the memory for the wait_queue_head has been freed. We need
to check there are no tasks queued on any of the subdevices’ wait queues
before allowing the device to be detached by the `COMEDI_DEVCONFIG`
ioctl.
Tasks will read-lock `dev->attach_lock` before adding themselves to the
subdevice wait queue, so fix the problem in the `COMEDI_DEVCONFIG` ioctl
handler by write-locking `dev->attach_lock` before checking that all of
the subdevices are safe to be deleted. This includes testing for any
sleepers on the subdevices’ wait queues. It remains locked until the
device has been detached. This requires the `comedi_device_detach()`
function to be refactored slightly, moving the bulk of it into new
function `comedi_device_detach_locked()`.
Note that the refactor of `comedi_device_detach()` results in
`comedi_device_cancel_all()` now being called while `dev->attach_lock`
is write-locked, which wasn’t the case previously, but that does not
matter.
Thanks to Jens Axboe for diagnosing the problem and co-developing this
patch.
Related CVE by CWE
No related CWE found.
Top CVE for Vendor
No vendor taxonomy on this entry.
Recently Exploited Similar Vulnerabilities
No recent KEV-listed items for this vendor/product.
How to fix CVE-2025-38687
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: comedi: fix race between polling and detaching syzbot reports a use-after-free in comedi in the below link, which is due to comedi gladly removing the allocated async area even though poll requests are still active on the wait_queue_head inside of it. This can cause a […]
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
Added to this CVE tracking system
Detection Rules & IOCs
No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.
No vendor/product data available.