# CVE-2025-38216: iommu/vt-d: Restore context entry setup order for aliased devices > A regression in the Linux kernel IOMMU driver causes input devices like keyboards to fail on specific hardware, resulting in a denial of service. - **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 4 Jul 2025 - **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38216, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38216, GHSA-gc23-52rx-7m2p, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38216 ## What is CVE-2025-38216? CVE-2025-38216 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommu/vt-d: Restore context entry setup order for aliased devices Commit 2031c469f816 ("iommu/vt-d: Add support for static identity domain") changed the context entry setup during domain attachment from a set-and-check policy to a clear-and-reset approach. This inadvertently introduced a regression affecting PCI aliased devices behind PCIe-to-PCI bridges. Specifically, keyboard and touchpad stopped working on several Apple Macbooks with below messages: kernel: platform pxa2xx-spi.3: Adding to iommu group 20 kernel: input: Apple SPI Keyboard as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1e.3/pxa2xx-spi.3/spi_master/spi2/spi-APP000D:00/input/input0 kernel: DMAR: DRHD: handling fault status reg 3 kernel: DMAR: [DMA Read NO_PASID] Request device [00:1e.3] fault addr 0xffffa000 [fault reason 0x06] PTE Read access is not set kernel: DMAR: DRHD: handling fault status reg 3 kernel: DMAR: [DMA Read NO_PASID] Request device [00:1e.3] fault addr 0xffffa000 [fault reason 0x06] PTE Read access is not set kernel: applespi spi-APP000D:00: Error writing to device: 01 0e 00 00 kernel: DMAR: DRHD: handling fault status reg 3 kernel: DMAR: [DMA Read NO_PASID] Request device [00:1e.3] fault addr 0xffffa000 [fault reason 0x06] PTE Read access is not set kernel: DMAR: DRHD: handling fault status reg 3 kernel: applespi spi-APP000D:00: Error writing to device: 01 0e 00 00 Fix this by restoring the previous context setup order. ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38216? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2025-38216? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2025-38216 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38216 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel - [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2025-38216 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2025-38216 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Jul 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38216 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38216/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38216/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38216 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38216 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38216 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38216/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.