# CVE-2025-38722: habanalabs: fix UAF in export_dmabuf()

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the habanalabs driver allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges via a race condition.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-66881, BELL-CVE-2025-38722, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38722, GHSA-mq33-37wv-8g5g, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38722, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38722, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38722

## What is CVE-2025-38722?

CVE-2025-38722 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Sep 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:

habanalabs: fix UAF in export_dmabuf()

As soon as we'd inserted a file reference into descriptor table, another
thread could close it.  That's fine for the case when all we are doing is
returning that descriptor to userland (it's a race, but it's a userland
race and there's nothing the kernel can do about it).  However, if we
follow fd_install() with any kind of access to objects that would be
destroyed on close (be it the struct file itself or anything destroyed
by its ->release()), we have a UAF.

dma_buf_fd() is a combination of reserving a descriptor and fd_install().
habanalabs export_dmabuf() calls it and then proceeds to access the
objects destroyed on close.  In particular, it grabs an extra reference to
another struct file that will be dropped as part of ->release() for ours;
that "will be" is actually "might have already been".

Fix that by reserving descriptor before anything else and do fd_install()
only when everything had been set up.  As a side benefit, we no longer
have the failure exit with file already created, but reference to
underlying file (as well as ->dmabuf_export_cnt, etc.) not grabbed yet;
unlike dma_buf_fd(), fd_install() can't fail.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38722?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38722?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38722 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38722 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-2025-38722 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38722 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Sep 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-2025-38722 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-2025-38722/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38722/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38722
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38722
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38722

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38722/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.