CVE-2025-38104 – This CVE describes a priority inversion vulnera... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2025-38104?

CVE-2025-38104 has a CVSS score of 4.7 (MEDIUM). This CVE describes a priority inversion vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AMD GPU driver (amdgpu) when using Single Root I/O Virtualization (SRIOV). The issue occurs when a low-priority thread holds a mutex needed by a high-priority thread during RLCG register access, potentially causing system instability or denial of service. This affects Linux systems with AMD GPUs using SRIOV virtualization.

📋 TL;DR

This CVE describes a priority inversion vulnerability in the Linux kernel's AMD GPU driver (amdgpu) when using Single Root I/O Virtualization (SRIOV). The issue occurs when a low-priority thread holds a mutex needed by a high-priority thread during RLCG register access, potentially causing system instability or denial of service. This affects Linux systems with AMD GPUs using SRIOV virtualization.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Linux kernel with AMD GPU driver (amdgpu)

Versions: Linux kernel versions before the fix commits (specific versions not specified in CVE, but patches available for stable branches)

Operating Systems: Linux distributions with affected kernel versions

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems with AMD GPUs using SRIOV virtualization feature. Requires amdgpu driver with SRIOV support enabled.

📦 What is this software?

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 →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

System instability, kernel panic, or denial of service due to priority inversion deadlocks in the GPU driver, potentially affecting all virtual functions using the GPU.

🟠

Likely Case

Performance degradation, GPU operation failures, or system hangs when multiple virtual functions attempt concurrent GPU register access under SRIOV.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minor performance impact during GPU operations with proper locking mechanisms in place.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This is a kernel-level driver issue requiring local access or virtualization environment exploitation.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Affects virtualized environments with AMD GPUs; could impact multiple VMs sharing GPU resources.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: NO

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: HIGH - Requires specific conditions: AMD GPU with SRIOV, concurrent access patterns triggering priority inversion.

Exploitation requires local access to trigger the race condition. No known public exploits.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Linux kernel with commits: 07ed75bfa7ede8bfcfa303fd6efc85db1c8684c7, 1c0378830e42c98acd69e0289882c8637d92f285, 5c1741a0c176ae11675a64cb7f2dd21d72db6b91, d1bda2ab0cf956a16dd369a473a6c43dfbed5855, dc0297f3198bd60108ccbd167ee5d9fa4af31ed0

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/07ed75bfa7ede8bfcfa303fd6efc85db1c8684c7

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing the fix commits
2. Rebuild kernel if compiling from source
3. Reboot system to load new kernel

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable SRIOV for AMD GPUs

linux

Temporarily disable Single Root I/O Virtualization feature for AMD GPUs to avoid the vulnerable code path.

echo 0 > /sys/class/drm/card0/device/sriov_numvfs
Replace card0 with appropriate GPU device

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Avoid concurrent GPU-intensive operations across multiple virtual functions
Monitor system logs for 'Invalid wait context' or priority inversion warnings

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and if amdgpu driver is loaded with SRIOV support: lsmod | grep amdgpu && cat /sys/module/amdgpu/version

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version includes fix commits: grep -r '07ed75bfa7ede8bfcfa303fd6efc85db1c8684c7' /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Kernel logs showing 'BUG: Invalid wait context'
Messages containing 'amdgpu_virt_rlcg_reg_rw' or 'priority inversion'
System hangs or GPU operation failures in dmesg

Network Indicators:

None - this is a local kernel/driver issue

SIEM Query:

source="kernel" AND ("Invalid wait context" OR "priority inversion" OR "amdgpu_virt_rlcg")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2025-38104

CVSS v3 Score: 4.7 (MEDIUM)

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

CWE: CWE-362

EPSS Score: 0.07% exploit probability (21.6th percentile)

Published: April 18, 2025

Last Updated: February 6, 2026

🔗 References

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