CVE-2025-38313

What it actually does

Double-free vulnerability in the fsl-mc bus driver when handling MC devices that are DPRCs, occurring on error paths due to incorrect deallocation logic for mc_bus and mc_dev references.

Why it matters to the business

Potential kernel crashes or memory corruption on systems using Freescale Management Complex devices, requiring urgent patching on affected Linux kernel versions to prevent denial of service or exploitation.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker with local access could trigger the error path in device initialization for DPRC devices, leading to double-free which might be leveraged for privilege escalation, though no public exploits noted; observed in context of various Linux kernel privilege escalation campaigns.

How to fix it

Upgrade to fixed kernel versions: linux-lts (Alpaquita:23) 6.1.81-r0, linux-lts (Alpaquita:stream) 6.6.58-r0 or 6.12.41-r0, or apply commit 12e4431e5078847791936820bd39df9e1ee26d2e in the Linux kernel stable tree.

How to confirm the fix worked

Verify kernel version is updated to one of the fixed releases and check for absence of the double-free logic in the fsl-mc driver code.

Typical attack path

1. Gain local access to the system
2. Trigger error condition in fsl-mc device probe for DPRC
3. Cause double-free in kernel memory management
4. Attempt to exploit resulting heap state for code execution

How to detect it

Look for kernel logs indicating double-free or oops in fsl-mc module, especially during device initialization, in context of Linux kernel privilege escalation activity by advanced threat actors.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize patching affected Linux systems to the specified fixed versions given 474 days since publication
• Monitor for kernel panics related to fsl-mc
• Review device configurations using DPRC