Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2025-38527

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smb: client: fix use-after-free in cifs_oplock_break A race condition can occur in cifs_oplock_break() leading to a use-after-free of the cinode structure when unmounting: cifs_oplock_break() _cifsFileInfo_put(cfile) cifsFileInfo_put_final() cifs_sb_deactive() [last ref, start releasing sb] kill_sb() kill_anon_super() generic_shutdown_super() evict_inodes() dispose_list() evict() destroy_inode() call_rcu(&inode->i_rcu, i_callback) spin_lock(&cinode->open_file_lock) <- OK [later] i_callback() cifs_free_inode() kmem_cache_free(cinode) spin_unlock(&cinode->open_file_lock) <- UAF cifs_done_oplock_break(cinode) <- UAF The issue occurs when umount has already released its reference to the superblock. When _cifsFileInfo_put() calls cifs_sb_deactive(), this releases the last reference, triggering the immediate cleanup of all inodes under RCU. However, cifs_oplock_break() continues to access the cinode after this point, resulting in use-after-free. Fix this by holding an extra reference to the superblock during the entire oplock break operation. This ensures that the superblock and its inodes remain valid until the oplock break completes.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

EPSS: 0.002 (5.7th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-38527?
CVE-2025-38527 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2025-08-16.
How severe is CVE-2025-38527?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-38527 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.