CVE-2025-39995
NoneCVSS
—
EPSS
0.2%
Published
Oct 15, 2025
CISA due date
—
Cloudanix analysis
A cleanup error in hardware driver initialization can leave background tasks running after memory is released, potentially crashing the system or allowing takeover.
- Exploitation
- Local Privilege
- Attacker needs
- Local User
- Complexity
- Moderate
- Impact
- Privilege Gain
- Component
- OS kernel
- Class
- Use After Free
- Remediation
- Patch
- Effort
- Medium
- Patch risk
- Low
What it actually does
Use-after-free in kernel timer handling where orphan cyclic timer and delayed work continue executing after tc358743_state object is freed on probe failure, with timer callback referencing freed memory via tc358743_irq_poll_timer.
Why it matters to the business
Kernel instability, crashes, or potential privilege escalation on systems with tc358743 hardware during device initialization failures; high prevalence in Linux media stacks increases exposure across servers and embedded devices.
How an attack unfolds
Attacker triggers I2C device probe for tc358743, induces failure after timer initialization so that timer_delete and cancel_delayed_work leave running timer/work items; subsequent timer firing accesses freed object leading to UAF write in __run_timer_base.
How to fix it
Apply kernel patches replacing timer_delete with timer_delete_sync and cancel_delayed_work with cancel_delayed_work_sync in tc358743_probe; upgrade to fixed versions such as those resolving the orphan timer issue.
How to confirm the fix worked
Inspect tc358743 driver source for timer_delete_sync and cancel_delayed_work_sync usage; reproduce probe failure paths with debugfs fault injection and confirm absence of KASAN slab-use-after-free reports.
Typical attack path
- Insert or configure tc358743 I2C device
- Force probe failure path after timer setup
- Allow orphaned timer to fire post-kfree
- Trigger slab-use-after-free in timer callback
How to detect it
Search kernel logs and KASAN reports for slab-use-after-free involving __run_timer_base and tc358743; examine call traces containing tc358743_probe and timer work functions on systems with recent I2C device additions.
- BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __run_timer_base.part.0
- tc358743_irq_poll_timer
- Allocated by task.*tc358743_probe
- Freed by task.*release_nodes.*devres_release_group
What your security team should do
- Prioritize kernel updates on all systems with tc358743 hardware
- Enable KASAN or similar sanitizers in test environments
- Monitor probe failure logs for media/i2c devices
- Review static analysis results for similar timer patterns in other drivers
The record
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: i2c: tc358743: Fix use-after-free bugs caused by orphan timer in probe The state->timer is a cyclic timer that schedules work_i2c_poll and delayed_work_enable_hotplug, while rearming itself. Using timer_delete() fails to guarantee the timer isn't still running when destroyed, similarly cancel_delayed_work() cannot ensure delayed_work_enable_hotplug has terminated if already executing. During probe failure after timer initialization, these may continue running as orphans and reference the already-freed tc358743_state object through tc358743_irq_poll_timer. The following is the trace captured by KASAN. BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __run_timer_base.part.0+0x7d7/0x8c0 Write of size 8 at addr ffff88800ded83c8 by task swapper/1/0 ... Call Trace: <IRQ> dump_stack_lvl+0x55/0x70 print_report+0xcf/0x610 ? __pfx_sched_balance_find_src_group+0x10/0x10 ? __run_timer_base.part.0+0x7d7/0x8c0 kasan_report+0xb8/0xf0 ? __run_timer_base.part.0+0x7d7/0x8c0 __run_timer_base.part.0+0x7d7/0x8c0 ? rcu_sched_clock_irq+0xb06/0x27d0 ? __pfx___run_timer_base.part.0+0x10/0x10 ? try_to_wake_up+0xb15/0x1960 ? tmigr_update_events+0x280/0x740 ? _raw_spin_lock_irq+0x80/0xe0 ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irq+0x10/0x10 tmigr_handle_remote_up+0x603/0x7e0 ? __pfx_tmigr_handle_remote_up+0x10/0x10 ? sched_balance_trigger+0x98/0x9f0 ? sched_tick+0x221/0x5a0 ? _raw_spin_lock_irq+0x80/0xe0 ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irq+0x10/0x10 ? tick_nohz_handler+0x339/0x440 ? __pfx_tmigr_handle_remote_up+0x10/0x10 __walk_groups.isra.0+0x42/0x150 tmigr_handle_remote+0x1f4/0x2e0 ? __pfx_tmigr_handle_remote+0x10/0x10 ? ktime_get+0x60/0x140 ? lapic_next_event+0x11/0x20 ? clockevents_program_event+0x1d4/0x2a0 ? hrtimer_interrupt+0x322/0x780 handle_softirqs+0x16a/0x550 irq_exit_rcu+0xaf/0xe0 sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x70/0x80 </IRQ> ... Allocated by task 141: kasan_save_stack+0x24/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0x7f/0x90 __kmalloc_node_track_caller_noprof+0x198/0x430 devm_kmalloc+0x7b/0x1e0 tc358743_probe+0xb7/0x610 i2c_device_probe+0x51d/0x880 really_probe+0x1ca/0x5c0 __driver_probe_device+0x248/0x310 driver_probe_device+0x44/0x120 __device_attach_driver+0x174/0x220 bus_for_each_drv+0x100/0x190 __device_attach+0x206/0x370 bus_probe_device+0x123/0x170 device_add+0xd25/0x1470 i2c_new_client_device+0x7a0/0xcd0 do_one_initcall+0x89/0x300 do_init_module+0x29d/0x7f0 load_module+0x4f48/0x69e0 init_module_from_file+0xe4/0x150 idempotent_init_module+0x320/0x670 __x64_sys_finit_module+0xbd/0x120 do_syscall_64+0xac/0x280 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Freed by task 141: kasan_save_stack+0x24/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x3a/0x60 __kasan_slab_free+0x3f/0x50 kfree+0x137/0x370 release_nodes+0xa4/0x100 devres_release_group+0x1b2/0x380 i2c_device_probe+0x694/0x880 really_probe+0x1ca/0x5c0 __driver_probe_device+0x248/0x310 driver_probe_device+0x44/0x120 __device_attach_driver+0x174/0x220 bus_for_each_drv+0x100/0x190 __device_attach+0x206/0x370 bus_probe_device+0x123/0x170 device_add+0xd25/0x1470 i2c_new_client_device+0x7a0/0xcd0 do_one_initcall+0x89/0x300 do_init_module+0x29d/0x7f0 load_module+0x4f48/0x69e0 init_module_from_file+0xe4/0x150 idempotent_init_module+0x320/0x670 __x64_sys_finit_module+0xbd/0x120 do_syscall_64+0xac/0x280 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f ... Replace timer_delete() with timer_delete_sync() and cancel_delayed_work() with cancel_delayed_work_sync() to ensure proper termination of timer and work items before resource cleanup. This bug was initially identified through static analysis. For reproduction and testing, I created a functional emulation of the tc358743 device via a kernel module and introduced faults through the debugfs interface.
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Introduced | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Kernel | 4.3.0 | 5.15.195 |
| Linux | Kernel | 4.3.0 | 5.4.301 |
| Mageia:9 | kernel | 0 | 6.6.116-1.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kernel-linus | 0 | 6.6.116-1.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kmod-virtualbox | 0 | 7.1.14-13.mga9 |
| Mageia:9 | kmod-xtables-addons | 0 | 3.24-87.mga9 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_17 | 0 | 1-150600.1.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_17 | 0 | 1-150600.13.5.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7_Update_6 | 0 | 1-150700.15.3.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1.150600.12.34.2 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1.150700.17.15.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.55.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.55.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.55.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.20.18.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.20.18.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.20.18.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 |
| SUSE:Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.55.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1.150600.12.34.2 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-kvmsmall | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-obs-qa | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt_debug | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.55.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-source-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-azure | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.8.55.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-rt | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | dtb-aarch64 | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-64kb | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-default | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-docs | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-kvmsmall | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-obs-build | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-obs-qa | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-rt | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-source | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-syms | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Leap 16.0 | kernel-zfcpdump | 0 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | kernel-source | 0 | 6.17.5-1.1 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | kernel-source-longterm | 0 | 6.18.16-1.1 |
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