# CVE-2025-38731: drm/xe: Fix vm_bind_ioctl double free bug

> A double-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Intel Xe GPU driver allows local attackers to cause a system crash or potentially escalate privileges.

- **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:** 5 Sep 2025
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38731, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38731, GHSA-5hc5-4v2f-5h8m, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38731

## What is CVE-2025-38731?

CVE-2025-38731 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 5 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:

drm/xe: Fix vm_bind_ioctl double free bug

If the argument check during an array bind fails, the bind_ops are freed
twice as seen below. Fix this by setting bind_ops to NULL after freeing.

==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: double-free in xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe]
Free of addr ffff88813bb9b800 by task xe_vm/14198

CPU: 5 UID: 0 PID: 14198 Comm: xe_vm Not tainted 6.16.0-xe-eudebug-cmanszew+ #520 PREEMPT(full)
Hardware name: Intel Corporation Alder Lake Client Platform/AlderLake-P DDR5 RVP, BIOS ADLPFWI1.R00.2411.A02.2110081023 10/08/2021
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 dump_stack_lvl+0x82/0xd0
 print_report+0xcb/0x610
 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x19a/0x300
 ? xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe]
 kasan_report_invalid_free+0xc8/0xf0
 ? xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe]
 ? xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe]
 check_slab_allocation+0x102/0x130
 kfree+0x10d/0x440
 ? should_fail_ex+0x57/0x2f0
 ? xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe]
 xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x1b2/0x21f0 [xe]
 ? __pfx_xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [xe]
 ? __lock_acquire+0xab9/0x27f0
 ? lock_acquire+0x165/0x300
 ? drm_dev_enter+0x53/0xe0 [drm]
 ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80
 ? drm_dev_exit+0x30/0x50 [drm]
 ? drm_ioctl_kernel+0x128/0x1c0 [drm]
 drm_ioctl_kernel+0x128/0x1c0 [drm]
 ? __pfx_xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [xe]
 ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80
 ? __pfx_drm_ioctl_kernel+0x10/0x10 [drm]
 ? should_fail_ex+0x57/0x2f0
 ? __pfx_xe_vm_bind_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [xe]
 drm_ioctl+0x352/0x620 [drm]
 ? __pfx_drm_ioctl+0x10/0x10 [drm]
 ? __pfx_rpm_resume+0x10/0x10
 ? do_raw_spin_lock+0x11a/0x1b0
 ? find_held_lock+0x2b/0x80
 ? __pm_runtime_resume+0x61/0xc0
 ? rcu_is_watching+0x20/0x50
 ? trace_irq_enable.constprop.0+0xac/0xe0
 xe_drm_ioctl+0x91/0xc0 [xe]
 __x64_sys_ioctl+0xb2/0x100
 ? rcu_is_watching+0x20/0x50
 do_syscall_64+0x68/0x2e0
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
RIP: 0033:0x7fa9acb24ded

(cherry picked from commit a01b704527c28a2fd43a17a85f8996b75ec8492a)

Weakness: CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38731?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38731?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38731 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38731 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-2025-38731 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38731 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 5 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-2025-38731 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-2025-38731/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38731/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38731
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38731
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38731

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38731/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.