Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/i915/gt: Fix timeline...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
drm/i915/gt: Fix timeline left held on VMA alloc error
The following error has been reported sporadically by CI when a test
unbinds the i915 driver on a ring submission platform:
<4> [239.330153] ------------[ cut here ]------------
<4> [239.330166] i915 0000:00:02.0: [drm] drm_WARN_ON(dev_priv->mm.shrink_count)
<4> [239.330196] WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 18570 at drivers/gpu/drm/i915/i915_gem.c:1309 i915_gem_cleanup_early+0x13e/0x150 [i915]
...
<4> [239.330640] RIP: 0010:i915_gem_cleanup_early+0x13e/0x150 [i915]
...
<4> [239.330942] Call Trace:
<4> [239.330944]
<4> [239.330949] i915_driver_late_release+0x2b/0xa0 [i915]
<4> [239.331202] i915_driver_release+0x86/0xa0 [i915]
<4> [239.331482] devm_drm_dev_init_release+0x61/0x90
<4> [239.331494] devm_action_release+0x15/0x30
<4> [239.331504] release_nodes+0x3d/0x120
<4> [239.331517] devres_release_all+0x96/0xd0
<4> [239.331533] device_unbind_cleanup+0x12/0x80
<4> [239.331543] device_release_driver_internal+0x23a/0x280
<4> [239.331550] ? bus_find_device+0xa5/0xe0
<4> [239.331563] device_driver_detach+0x14/0x20
...
<4> [357.719679] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
If the test also unloads the i915 module then that's followed with:
<3> [357.787478] =============================================================================
<3> [357.788006] BUG i915_vma (Tainted: G U W N ): Objects remaining on __kmem_cache_shutdown()
<3> [357.788031] -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<3> [357.788204] Object 0xffff888109e7f480 @offset=29824
<3> [357.788670] Allocated in i915_vma_instance+0xee/0xc10 [i915] age=292729 cpu=4 pid=2244
<4> [357.788994] i915_vma_instance+0xee/0xc10 [i915]
<4> [357.789290] init_status_page+0x7b/0x420 [i915]
<4> [357.789532] intel_engines_init+0x1d8/0x980 [i915]
<4> [357.789772] intel_gt_init+0x175/0x450 [i915]
<4> [357.790014] i915_gem_init+0x113/0x340 [i915]
<4> [357.790281] i915_driver_probe+0x847/0xed0 [i915]
<4> [357.790504] i915_pci_probe+0xe6/0x220 [i915]
...
Closer analysis of CI results history has revealed a dependency of the
error on a few IGT tests, namely:
- igt@api_intel_allocator@fork-simple-stress-signal,
- igt@api_intel_allocator@two-level-inception-interruptible,
- igt@gem_linear_blits@interruptible,
- igt@prime_mmap_coherency@ioctl-errors,
which invisibly trigger the issue, then exhibited with first driver unbind
attempt.
All of the above tests perform actions which are actively interrupted with
signals. Further debugging has allowed to narrow that scope down to
DRM_IOCTL_I915_GEM_EXECBUFFER2, and ring_context_alloc(), specific to ring
submission, in particular.
If successful then that function, or its execlists or GuC submission
equivalent, is supposed to be called only once per GEM context engine,
followed by raise of a flag that prevents the function from being called
again. The function is expected to unwind its internal errors itself, so
it may be safely called once more after it returns an error.
In case of ring submission, the function first gets a reference to the
engine's legacy timeline and then allocates a VMA. If the VMA allocation
fails, e.g. when i915_vma_instance() called from inside is interrupted
with a signal, then ring_context_alloc() fails, leaving the timeline held
referenced. On next I915_GEM_EXECBUFFER2 IOCTL, another reference to the
timeline is got, and only that last one is put on successful completion.
As a consequence, the legacy timeline, with its underlying engine status
page's VMA object, is still held and not released on driver unbind.
Get the legacy timeline only after successful allocation of the context
engine's VMA.
v2: Add a note on other submission methods (Krzysztof Karas):
Both execlists and GuC submission use lrc_alloc() which seems free
from a similar issue.
(cherry picked from commit cc43422b3cc79eacff4c5a8ba0d224688ca9dd4f)
Impact
CVE-2025-38389 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-2025-38389? CVE-2025-38389 is a high-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38389? CVE-2025-38389 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-2025-38389? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38389 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38389 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38389 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-2025-38389 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.