Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2025-38172

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: erofs: avoid using multiple devices with different type For multiple devices, both primary and extra devices should be the same type. `erofs_init_device` has already guaranteed that if the primary is a file-backed device, extra devices should also be regular files. However, if the primary is a block device while the extra device is a file-backed device, `erofs_init_device` will get an ENOTBLK, which is not treated as an error in `erofs_fc_get_tree`, and that leads to an UAF: erofs_fc_get_tree get_tree_bdev_flags(erofs_fc_fill_super) erofs_read_superblock erofs_init_device // sbi->dif0 is not inited yet, // return -ENOTBLK deactivate_locked_super free(sbi) if (err is -ENOTBLK) sbi->dif0.file = filp_open() // sbi UAF So if -ENOTBLK is hitted in `erofs_init_device`, it means the primary device must be a block device, and the extra device is not a block device. The error can be converted to -EINVAL.

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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (6.2th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 6.2% 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-2025-38172: 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)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38172?
CVE-2025-38172 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-07-03.
How severe is CVE-2025-38172?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.