CVE-2025-38520

Local denial of service via MMU deadlock

Published Aug 16, 2025 · Updated May 23, 2026

Denial of service in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to hang GPU tasks through AMD KFD memory operations. During process exit, svm_range_cpu_invalidate_pagetables calls mmput from an MMU notifier callback, which can release the final mm reference and reenter exit_mmap while page-table teardown locks are held. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to AMD KFD GPU memory allocation; the resulting deadlock leaves the KFD process unreleased and leaks VRAM.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in affected Linux kernel versions allows local users to hang GPU tasks through AMD KFD memory operations. During process exit, svm_range_cpu_invalidate_pagetables calls mmput from an MMU notifier callback, which can release the final mm reference and reenter exit_mmap while page-table teardown locks are held. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to AMD KFD GPU memory allocation; the resulting deadlock leaves the KFD process unreleased and leaks VRAM.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-38520
Published
Aug 16, 2025
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-667, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 16, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=09c5cdbc62d99fc6306a21b24b60eb11a3bd0963
  2. Affected versionversion=4b29b8d7c20f54eec0ff266b4a3f419bd251ed83
  3. Affected versionversion=5.15.49 <5.16
  4. Affected versionversion=5.18.6 <5.19
  5. Affected versionversion=5.19
  6. Affected versionversion=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <145a56bd68f4bff098d59fbc7c263d20dfef4fc4
  7. Affected versionversion=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <a7eb0a25010a674c8fdfbece38353ef7be8c5834
  8. Affected versionversion=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <c1bde9d48e09933c361521720f77a8072083c83a
  9. Affected versionversion=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <cf234231fcbc7d391e2135b9518613218cc5347f
  10. Affected versionversion=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <e90ee15ce28c61f6d83a0511c3e02e2662478350

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=09c5cdbc62d99fc6306a21b24b60eb11a3bd0963; version=4b29b8d7c20f54eec0ff266b4a3f419bd251ed83; version=5.15.49 <5.16; version=5.18.6 <5.19; version=5.19; version=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <145a56bd68f4bff098d59fbc7c263d20dfef4fc4; version=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <a7eb0a25010a674c8fdfbece38353ef7be8c5834; version=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <c1bde9d48e09933c361521720f77a8072083c83a; version=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <cf234231fcbc7d391e2135b9518613218cc5347f; version=fa582c6f3684ac0098a9d02ddf0ed52a02b37127 <e90ee15ce28c61f6d83a0511c3e02e2662478350

Published CVSS scores

4.7SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Oracle LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-667Improper Locking
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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