Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2025-37849

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: KVM: arm64: Tear down vGIC on failed vCPU creation If kvm_arch_vcpu_create() fails to share the vCPU page with the hypervisor, we propagate the error back to the ioctl but leave the vGIC vCPU data initialised. Note only does this leak the corresponding memory when the vCPU is destroyed but it can also lead to use-after-free if the redistributor device handling tries to walk into the vCPU. Add the missing cleanup to kvm_arch_vcpu_create(), ensuring that the vGIC vCPU structures are destroyed on error.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (16.3th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 16th percentile — 16.3% 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-2025-37849: held from 0.003 to 0.003.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-37849?
CVE-2025-37849 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2025-05-09.
How severe is CVE-2025-37849?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-37849 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.