CVE-2025-38015 – A memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-38015?

CVE-2025-38015 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). A memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's dmaengine idxd driver occurs when error handling fails to free allocated memory during device initialization. This affects systems using Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA) hardware with vulnerable kernel versions. The vulnerability could lead to resource exhaustion over time.

📋 TL;DR

A memory leak vulnerability in the Linux kernel's dmaengine idxd driver occurs when error handling fails to free allocated memory during device initialization. This affects systems using Intel Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA) hardware with vulnerable kernel versions. The vulnerability could lead to resource exhaustion over time.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with Intel DSA (Data Streaming Accelerator) driver

Versions: Kernel versions containing vulnerable idxd driver code (specific commit range not specified in CVE)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions with vulnerable kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires Intel DSA hardware and idxd driver usage; vulnerability triggers during device allocation errors.

📦 What is this software?

Debian Linux by Debian

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

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Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

Linux Kernel by Linux

The Linux Kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, serving as the critical interface between computer hardware and software processes. As the heart of millions of servers, cloud infrastructure, embedded systems, Android devices, and IoT deployments worldwide, the Linux Kernel mana...

Learn more about Linux Kernel →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Repeated triggering could exhaust kernel memory, leading to system instability, denial of service, or potential kernel crashes.

🟠

Likely Case

Memory leak causing gradual performance degradation or system instability during DSA device initialization failures.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper monitoring and restart capabilities; memory reclaimed on system reboot.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access to trigger; not directly exploitable over network.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Local users or processes could trigger the condition, potentially affecting system stability.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Requires ability to trigger idxd allocation errors; not a direct code execution vulnerability.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions with fixes from provided git commits

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46a5cca76c76c86063000a12936f8e7875295838

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to patched version. 2. Reboot system to load new kernel. 3. Verify idxd driver functionality post-update.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable idxd driver

linux

Prevent loading of vulnerable idxd driver module

echo 'blacklist idxd' > /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-idxd.conf
rmmod idxd

Monitor memory usage

linux

Implement monitoring for abnormal memory consumption by kernel

watch -n 60 'cat /proc/meminfo | grep -E "MemFree|Slab"'

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement system monitoring for memory leaks and kernel OOM events
Schedule regular system reboots to clear accumulated memory leaks

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and verify if idxd driver is loaded: lsmod | grep idxd && uname -r

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is updated and check git commit contains fix: grep -r 'idxd_alloc' /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/source

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel OOM (Out of Memory) messages in dmesg
Increasing slab memory usage in /proc/meminfo
Failed idxd device initialization logs

Network Indicators:

None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("Out of memory" OR "slab allocation failure" OR "idxd allocation failed")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-38015

CVSS v3 Score: 5.5 (MEDIUM)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CWE: CWE-401

EPSS Score: 0.03% exploit probability (7th percentile)

Published: June 18, 2025

Last Updated: December 17, 2025

🔗 References

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