Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ACPICA: fix acpi operand...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ACPICA: fix acpi operand cache leak in dswstate.c
ACPICA commit 987a3b5cf7175916e2a4b6ea5b8e70f830dfe732
I found an ACPI cache leak in ACPI early termination and boot continuing case.
When early termination occurs due to malicious ACPI table, Linux kernel
terminates ACPI function and continues to boot process. While kernel terminates
ACPI function, kmem_cache_destroy() reports Acpi-Operand cache leak.
Boot log of ACPI operand cache leak is as follows:
[ 0.585957] ACPI: Added _OSI(Module Device)
[ 0.587218] ACPI: Added _OSI(Processor Device)
[ 0.588530] ACPI: Added _OSI(3.0 _SCP Extensions)
[ 0.589790] ACPI: Added _OSI(Processor Aggregator Device)
[ 0.591534] ACPI Error: Illegal I/O port address/length above 64K: C806E00000004002/0x2 (20170303/hwvalid-155)
[ 0.594351] ACPI Exception: AE_LIMIT, Unable to initialize fixed events (20170303/evevent-88)
[ 0.597858] ACPI: Unable to start the ACPI Interpreter
[ 0.599162] ACPI Error: Could not remove SCI handler (20170303/evmisc-281)
[ 0.601836] kmem_cache_destroy Acpi-Operand: Slab cache still has objects
[ 0.603556] CPU: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 4.12.0-rc5 #26
[ 0.605159] Hardware name: innotek gmb_h virtual_box/virtual_box, BIOS virtual_box 12/01/2006
[ 0.609177] Call Trace:
[ 0.610063] ? dump_stack+0x5c/0x81
[ 0.611118] ? kmem_cache_destroy+0x1aa/0x1c0
[ 0.612632] ? acpi_sleep_proc_init+0x27/0x27
[ 0.613906] ? acpi_os_delete_cache+0xa/0x10
[ 0.617986] ? acpi_ut_delete_caches+0x3f/0x7b
[ 0.619293] ? acpi_terminate+0xa/0x14
[ 0.620394] ? acpi_init+0x2af/0x34f
[ 0.621616] ? __class_create+0x4c/0x80
[ 0.623412] ? video_setup+0x7f/0x7f
[ 0.624585] ? acpi_sleep_proc_init+0x27/0x27
[ 0.625861] ? do_one_initcall+0x4e/0x1a0
[ 0.627513] ? kernel_init_freeable+0x19e/0x21f
[ 0.628972] ? rest_init+0x80/0x80
[ 0.630043] ? kernel_init+0xa/0x100
[ 0.631084] ? ret_from_fork+0x25/0x30
[ 0.633343] vgaarb: loaded
[ 0.635036] EDAC MC: Ver: 3.0.0
[ 0.638601] PCI: Probing PCI hardware
[ 0.639833] PCI host bridge to bus 0000:00
[ 0.641031] pci_bus 0000:00: root bus resource [io 0x0000-0xffff]
... Continue to boot and log is omitted ...
I analyzed this memory leak in detail and found acpi_ds_obj_stack_pop_and_
delete() function miscalculated the top of the stack. acpi_ds_obj_stack_push()
function uses walk_state->operand_index for start position of the top, but
acpi_ds_obj_stack_pop_and_delete() function considers index 0 for it.
Therefore, this causes acpi operand memory leak.
This cache leak causes a security threat because an old kernel (<= 4.9) shows
memory locations of kernel functions in stack dump. Some malicious users
could use this information to neutralize kernel ASLR.
I made a patch to fix ACPI operand cache leak.
Impact
CVE-2025-38345 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-2025-38345? CVE-2025-38345 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38345? CVE-2025-38345 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-2025-38345? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38345 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38345 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38345 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-2025-38345 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.