# CVE-2025-40296: platform/x86: int3472: Fix double free of GPIO device during unregister

> A double free vulnerability in the Linux kernel int3472 driver allows local attackers to cause system crashes or potentially execute arbitrary code.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-40296, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-40296, GHSA-2g6j-xgp9-7mhx, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-40296

## What is CVE-2025-40296?

CVE-2025-40296 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 8 Dec 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:

platform/x86: int3472: Fix double free of GPIO device during unregister

regulator_unregister() already frees the associated GPIO device. On
ThinkPad X9 (Lunar Lake), this causes a double free issue that leads to
random failures when other drivers (typically Intel THC) attempt to
allocate interrupts. The root cause is that the reference count of the
pinctrl_intel_platform module unexpectedly drops to zero when this
driver defers its probe.

This behavior can also be reproduced by unloading the module directly.

Fix the issue by removing the redundant release of the GPIO device
during regulator unregistration.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-40296?


## How do I fix CVE-2025-40296?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-40296 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-40296 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-40296 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-40296 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 8 Dec 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-2025-40296 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2025-40296/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40296/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-40296
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-40296
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-40296

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-40296/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.