Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_core: Fix use...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
Bluetooth: hci_core: Fix use-after-free in vhci_flush()
syzbot reported use-after-free in vhci_flush() without repro. [0]
From the splat, a thread close()d a vhci file descriptor while
its device was being used by iotcl() on another thread.
Once the last fd refcnt is released, vhci_release() calls
hci_unregister_dev(), hci_free_dev(), and kfree() for struct
vhci_data, which is set to hci_dev->dev->driver_data.
The problem is that there is no synchronisation after unlinking
hdev from hci_dev_list in hci_unregister_dev(). There might be
another thread still accessing the hdev which was fetched before
the unlink operation.
We can use SRCU for such synchronisation.
Let's run hci_dev_reset() under SRCU and wait for its completion
in hci_unregister_dev().
Another option would be to restore hci_dev->destruct(), which was
removed in commit 587ae086f6e4 ("Bluetooth: Remove unused
hci-destruct cb"). However, this would not be a good solution, as
we should not run hci_unregister_dev() while there are in-flight
ioctl() requests, which could lead to another data-race KCSAN splat.
Note that other drivers seem to have the same problem, for exmaple,
virtbt_remove().
[0]:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in skb_queue_empty_lockless include/linux/skbuff.h:1891 [inline]
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in skb_queue_purge_reason+0x99/0x360 net/core/skbuff.c:3937
Read of size 8 at addr ffff88807cb8d858 by task syz.1.219/6718
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 6718 Comm: syz.1.219 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc1-syzkaller-00196-g08207f42d3ff #0 PREEMPT(full)
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 05/07/2025
Call Trace:
dump_stack_lvl+0x189/0x250 lib/dump_stack.c:120
print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:408 [inline]
print_report+0xd2/0x2b0 mm/kasan/report.c:521
kasan_report+0x118/0x150 mm/kasan/report.c:634
skb_queue_empty_lockless include/linux/skbuff.h:1891 [inline]
skb_queue_purge_reason+0x99/0x360 net/core/skbuff.c:3937
skb_queue_purge include/linux/skbuff.h:3368 [inline]
vhci_flush+0x44/0x50 drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c:69
hci_dev_do_reset net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:552 [inline]
hci_dev_reset+0x420/0x5c0 net/bluetooth/hci_core.c:592
sock_do_ioctl+0xd9/0x300 net/socket.c:1190
sock_ioctl+0x576/0x790 net/socket.c:1311
vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline]
__do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:907 [inline]
__se_sys_ioctl+0xf9/0x170 fs/ioctl.c:893
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0xfa/0x3b0 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
RIP: 0033:0x7fcf5b98e929
Code: ff ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 a8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48
RSP: 002b:00007fcf5c7b9038 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000010
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007fcf5bbb6160 RCX: 00007fcf5b98e929
RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00000000400448cb RDI: 0000000000000009
RBP: 00007fcf5ba10b39 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000
R13: 0000000000000000 R14: 00007fcf5bbb6160 R15: 00007ffd6353d528
Allocated by task 6535:
kasan_save_stack mm/kasan/common.c:47 [inline]
kasan_save_track+0x3e/0x80 mm/kasan/common.c:68
poison_kmalloc_redzone mm/kasan/common.c:377 [inline]
__kasan_kmalloc+0x93/0xb0 mm/kasan/common.c:394
kasan_kmalloc include/linux/kasan.h:260 [inline]
__kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x230/0x3d0 mm/slub.c:4359
kmalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:905 [inline]
kzalloc_noprof include/linux/slab.h:1039 [inline]
vhci_open+0x57/0x360 drivers/bluetooth/hci_vhci.c:635
misc_open+0x2bc/0x330 drivers/char/misc.c:161
chrdev_open+0x4c9/0x5e0 fs/char_dev.c:414
do_dentry_open+0xdf0/0x1970 fs/open.c:964
vfs_open+0x3b/0x340 fs/open.c:1094
do_open fs/namei.c:3887 [inline]
path_openat+0x2ee5/0x3830 fs/name
---truncated---
Impact
Memory is accessed after it has been freed, leading to undefined behavior in native code. Typical impact: memory corruption, crash, or potential code execution.
CVE-2025-38250 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (High). 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-2025-38250? CVE-2025-38250 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet. Memory is accessed after it has been freed, leading to undefined behavior in native code.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38250? CVE-2025-38250 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (High). 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-2025-38250? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38250 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38250 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38250 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-2025-38250 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.