Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/mlx5: Fix error flow...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
RDMA/mlx5: Fix error flow upon firmware failure for RQ destruction
Upon RQ destruction if the firmware command fails which is the
last resource to be destroyed some SW resources were already cleaned
regardless of the failure.
Now properly rollback the object to its original state upon such failure.
In order to avoid a use-after free in case someone tries to destroy the
object again, which results in the following kernel trace:
refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free.
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 37589 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x148
Modules linked in: rdma_ucm(OE) rdma_cm(OE) iw_cm(OE) ib_ipoib(OE) ib_cm(OE) ib_umad(OE) mlx5_ib(OE) rfkill mlx5_core(OE) mlxdevm(OE) ib_uverbs(OE) ib_core(OE) psample mlxfw(OE) mlx_compat(OE) macsec tls pci_hyperv_intf sunrpc vfat fat virtio_net net_failover failover fuse loop nfnetlink vsock_loopback vmw_vsock_virtio_transport_common vmw_vsock_vmci_transport vmw_vmci vsock xfs crct10dif_ce ghash_ce sha2_ce sha256_arm64 sha1_ce virtio_console virtio_gpu virtio_blk virtio_dma_buf virtio_mmio dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log dm_mod xpmem(OE)
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 37589 Comm: python3 Kdump: loaded Tainted: G OE ------- --- 6.12.0-54.el10.aarch64 #1
Tainted: [O]=OOT_MODULE, [E]=UNSIGNED_MODULE
Hardware name: QEMU KVM Virtual Machine, BIOS 0.0.0 02/06/2015
pstate: 60400005 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--)
pc : refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x148
lr : refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x148
sp : ffff80008b81b7e0
x29: ffff80008b81b7e0 x28: ffff000133d51600 x27: 0000000000000001
x26: 0000000000000000 x25: 00000000ffffffea x24: ffff00010ae80f00
x23: ffff00010ae80f80 x22: ffff0000c66e5d08 x21: 0000000000000000
x20: ffff0000c66e0000 x19: ffff00010ae80340 x18: 0000000000000006
x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000020 x15: ffff80008b81b37f
x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 2e656572662d7265 x12: ffff80008283ef78
x11: ffff80008257efd0 x10: ffff80008283efd0 x9 : ffff80008021ed90
x8 : 0000000000000001 x7 : 00000000000bffe8 x6 : c0000000ffff7fff
x5 : ffff0001fb8e3408 x4 : 0000000000000000 x3 : ffff800179993000
x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : ffff000133d51600
Call trace:
refcount_warn_saturate+0xf4/0x148
mlx5_core_put_rsc+0x88/0xa0 [mlx5_ib]
mlx5_core_destroy_rq_tracked+0x64/0x98 [mlx5_ib]
mlx5_ib_destroy_wq+0x34/0x80 [mlx5_ib]
ib_destroy_wq_user+0x30/0xc0 [ib_core]
uverbs_free_wq+0x28/0x58 [ib_uverbs]
destroy_hw_idr_uobject+0x34/0x78 [ib_uverbs]
uverbs_destroy_uobject+0x48/0x240 [ib_uverbs]
__uverbs_cleanup_ufile+0xd4/0x1a8 [ib_uverbs]
uverbs_destroy_ufile_hw+0x48/0x120 [ib_uverbs]
ib_uverbs_close+0x2c/0x100 [ib_uverbs]
__fput+0xd8/0x2f0
__fput_sync+0x50/0x70
__arm64_sys_close+0x40/0x90
invoke_syscall.constprop.0+0x74/0xd0
do_el0_svc+0x48/0xe8
el0_svc+0x44/0x1d0
el0t_64_sync_handler+0x120/0x130
el0t_64_sync+0x1a4/0x1a8
Impact
CVE-2025-38161 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-38161? CVE-2025-38161 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38161? CVE-2025-38161 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-38161? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38161 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38161 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38161 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-38161 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.