Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2025-37838

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HSI: ssi_protocol: Fix use after free vulnerability in ssi_protocol Driver Due to Race Condition In the ssi_protocol_probe() function, &ssi->work is bound with ssip_xmit_work(), In ssip_pn_setup(), the ssip_pn_xmit() function within the ssip_pn_ops structure is capable of starting the work. If we remove the module which will call ssi_protocol_remove() to make a cleanup, it will free ssi through kfree(ssi), while the work mentioned above will be used. The sequence of operations that may lead to a UAF bug is as follows: CPU0 CPU1 | ssip_xmit_work ssi_protocol_remove | kfree(ssi); | | struct hsi_client *cl = ssi->cl; | // use ssi Fix it by ensuring that the work is canceled before proceeding with the cleanup in ssi_protocol_remove().

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (14.4th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 14th percentile — 14.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-37838: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-37838?
CVE-2025-37838 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-04-18.
How severe is CVE-2025-37838?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-37838 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.