CVE-2025-38354

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/msm/gpu: Fix crash when throttling GPU immediately during boot There is a small chance that the GPU is already hot during boot. In that case, the call to of_devfreq_cooling_register() will immediately try to apply devfreq cooling, as seen in the following crash: Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address 0000000000014110 pc : a6xx_gpu_busy+0x1c/0x58 [msm] lr : msm_devfreq_get_dev_status+0xbc/0x140 [msm] Call trace: a6xx_gpu_busy+0x1c/0x58 [msm] (P) devfreq_simple_ondemand_func+0x3c/0x150 devfreq_update_target+0x44/0xd8 qos_max_notifier_call+0x30/0x84 blocking_notifier_call_chain+0x6c/0xa0 pm_qos_update_target+0xd0/0x110 freq_qos_apply+0x3c/0x74 apply_constraint+0x88/0x148 __dev_pm_qos_update_request+0x7c/0xcc dev_pm_qos_update_request+0x38/0x5c devfreq_cooling_set_cur_state+0x98/0xf0 __thermal_cdev_update+0x64/0xb4 thermal_cdev_update+0x4c/0x58 step_wise_manage+0x1f0/0x318 __thermal_zone_device_update+0x278/0x424 __thermal_cooling_device_register+0x2bc/0x308 thermal_of_cooling_device_register+0x10/0x1c of_devfreq_cooling_register_power+0x240/0x2bc of_devfreq_cooling_register+0x14/0x20 msm_devfreq_init+0xc4/0x1a0 [msm] msm_gpu_init+0x304/0x574 [msm] adreno_gpu_init+0x1c4/0x2e0 [msm] a6xx_gpu_init+0x5c8/0x9c8 [msm] adreno_bind+0x2a8/0x33c [msm] ... At this point we haven't initialized the GMU at all yet, so we cannot read the GMU registers inside a6xx_gpu_busy(). A similar issue was fixed before in commit 6694482a70e9 ("drm/msm: Avoid unclocked GMU register access in 6xx gpu_busy"): msm_devfreq_init() does call devfreq_suspend_device(), but unlike msm_devfreq_suspend(), it doesn't set the df->suspended flag accordingly. This means the df->suspended flag does not match the actual devfreq state after initialization and msm_devfreq_get_dev_status() will end up accessing GMU registers, causing the crash. Fix this by setting df->suspended correctly during initialization. Patchwork: https://patchwork.freedesktop.org/patch/650772/

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of service disruption.

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2025-07-25 13:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 09:16 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.5 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2025-07-25 13:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 09:16 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Record status

Analyzed

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 5.19
• Linux Kernel < 6.1.143
• Linux Kernel < 6.6.96
• Linux Kernel < 6.12.36
• Linux Kernel < 6.15.5
• Debian Linux 11.0

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.5

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

None

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2025-38354.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2025-38354. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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