CVE-2025-39871
- Published: 2025-09-23T06:15:46.400
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
dmaengine: idxd: Remove improper idxd_free
The call to idxd_free() introduces a duplicate put_device() leading to a
reference count underflow:
refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free.
WARNING: CPU: 15 PID: 4428 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xbe/0x110
…
Call Trace:
idxd_remove+0xe4/0x120 [idxd]
pci_device_remove+0x3f/0xb0
device_release_driver_internal+0x197/0x200
driver_detach+0x48/0x90
bus_remove_driver+0x74/0xf0
pci_unregister_driver+0x2e/0xb0
idxd_exit_module+0x34/0x7a0 [idxd]
__do_sys_delete_module.constprop.0+0x183/0x280
do_syscall_64+0x54/0xd70
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
The idxd_unregister_devices() which is invoked at the very beginning of
idxd_remove(), already takes care of the necessary put_device() through the
following call path:
idxd_unregister_devices() -> device_unregister() -> put_device()
In addition, when CONFIG_DEBUG_KOBJECT_RELEASE is enabled, put_device() may
trigger asynchronous cleanup via schedule_delayed_work(). If idxd_free() is
called immediately after, it can result in a use-after-free.
Remove the improper idxd_free() to avoid both the refcount underflow and
potential memory corruption during module unload.
Related CVE by CWE
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How to fix CVE-2025-39871
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dmaengine: idxd: Remove improper idxd_free The call to idxd_free() introduces a duplicate put_device() leading to a reference count underflow: refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. WARNING: CPU: 15 PID: 4428 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xbe/0x110 … Call Trace: idxd_remove+0xe4/0x120 [idxd] pci_device_remove+0x3f/0xb0 device_release_driver_internal+0x197/0x200 driver_detach+0x48/0x90 bus_remove_driver+0x74/0xf0 pci_unregister_driver+0x2e/0xb0 idxd_exit_module+0x34/0x7a0 [idxd] __do_sys_delete_module.constprop.0+0x183/0x280 do_syscall_64+0x54/0xd70 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e […]
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.