Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iouring/msgring: ensure...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
io_uring/msg_ring: ensure io_kiocb freeing is deferred for RCU
syzbot reports that defer/local task_work adding via msg_ring can hit
a request that has been freed:
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 19356 Comm: iou-wrk-19354 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc4-syzkaller-00108-g17bbde2e1716 #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
io_req_local_work_add io_uring/io_uring.c:1184 [inline]
__io_req_task_work_add+0x589/0x950 io_uring/io_uring.c:1252
io_msg_remote_post io_uring/msg_ring.c:103 [inline]
io_msg_data_remote io_uring/msg_ring.c:133 [inline]
__io_msg_ring_data+0x820/0xaa0 io_uring/msg_ring.c:151
io_msg_ring_data io_uring/msg_ring.c:173 [inline]
io_msg_ring+0x134/0xa00 io_uring/msg_ring.c:314
__io_issue_sqe+0x17e/0x4b0 io_uring/io_uring.c:1739
io_issue_sqe+0x165/0xfd0 io_uring/io_uring.c:1762
io_wq_submit_work+0x6e9/0xb90 io_uring/io_uring.c:1874
io_worker_handle_work+0x7cd/0x1180 io_uring/io-wq.c:642
io_wq_worker+0x42f/0xeb0 io_uring/io-wq.c:696
ret_from_fork+0x3fc/0x770 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:148
ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:245
which is supposed to be safe with how requests are allocated. But msg
ring requests alloc and free on their own, and hence must defer freeing
to a sane time.
Add an rcu_head and use kfree_rcu() in both spots where requests are
freed. Only the one in io_msg_tw_complete() is strictly required as it
has been visible on the other ring, but use it consistently in the other
spot as well.
This should not cause any other issues outside of KASAN rightfully
complaining about it.
Impact
CVE-2025-38453 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-2025-38453? CVE-2025-38453 is a medium-severity security vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38453? CVE-2025-38453 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-2025-38453? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38453 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38453 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38453 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-2025-38453 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.