CVE-2025-38170

Source
https://cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38170
Import Source
https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2025-38170.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/CVE-2025-38170
Downstream
Related
Published
2025-07-03T08:36:09Z
Modified
2026-08-12T03:51:22Z
Summary
arm64/fpsimd: Discard stale CPU state when handling SME traps
Details

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

arm64/fpsimd: Discard stale CPU state when handling SME traps

The logic for handling SME traps manipulates saved FPSIMD/SVE/SME state incorrectly, and a race with preemption can result in a task having TIF_SME set and TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE clear even though the live CPU state is stale (e.g. with SME traps enabled). This can result in warnings from do_sme_acc() where SME traps are not expected while TIF_SME is set:

| /* With TIF_SME userspace shouldn't generate any traps */ | if (test_and_set_thread_flag(TIF_SME)) | WARN_ON(1);

This is very similar to the SVE issue we fixed in commit:

751ecf6afd6568ad ("arm64/sve: Discard stale CPU state when handling SVE traps")

The race can occur when the SME trap handler is preempted before and after manipulating the saved FPSIMD/SVE/SME state, starting and ending on the same CPU, e.g.

| void do_sme_acc(unsigned long esr, struct pt_regs regs) | { | // Trap on CPU 0 with TIF_SME clear, SME traps enabled | // task->fpsimd_cpu is 0. | // per_cpu_ptr(&fpsimd_last_state, 0) is task. | | ... | | // Preempted; migrated from CPU 0 to CPU 1. | // TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE is set. | | get_cpu_fpsimd_context(); | | / With TIF_SME userspace shouldn't generate any traps */ | if (test_and_set_thread_flag(TIF_SME)) | WARN_ON(1); | | if (!test_thread_flag(TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE)) { | unsigned long vq_minus_one = | sve_vq_from_vl(task_get_sme_vl(current)) - 1; | sme_set_vq(vq_minus_one); | | fpsimd_bind_task_to_cpu(); | } | | put_cpu_fpsimd_context(); | | // Preempted; migrated from CPU 1 to CPU 0. | // task->fpsimd_cpu is still 0 | // If per_cpu_ptr(&fpsimd_last_state, 0) is still task then: | // - Stale HW state is reused (with SME traps enabled) | // - TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE is cleared | // - A return to userspace skips HW state restore | }

Fix the case where the state is not live and TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE is set by calling fpsimd_flush_task_state() to detach from the saved CPU state. This ensures that a subsequent context switch will not reuse the stale CPU state, and will instead set TIF_FOREIGN_FPSTATE, forcing the new state to be reloaded from memory prior to a return to userspace.

Note: this was originallly posted as [1].

[ Rutland: rewrite commit message ]

Database specific
{
    "cna_assigner": "Linux",
    "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2025/38xxx/CVE-2025-38170.json"
}
References

Affected packages

Git / git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git

Affected ranges

Type
GIT
Repo
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git
Events
Introduced
8bd7f91c03d886f41d35f6108078d20be5a4a1bd
Fixed
de89368de3894a8db27caeb8fd902ba1c49f696a
Fixed
43be952e885476dafb74aa832c0847b2f4f650c6
Fixed
6103f9ba51a59afb5a0f32299c837377c5a5a693
Fixed
c4a4786d93e99517d6f10ed56b9ffba4ce88d3b3
Fixed
d3eaab3c70905c5467e5c4ea403053d67505adeb

Database specific

source
"https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2025-38170.json"

Linux / Kernel

Package

Name
Kernel

Affected ranges

Type
ECOSYSTEM
Events
Introduced
5.19.0
Fixed
6.1.142
Type
ECOSYSTEM
Events
Introduced
6.2.0
Fixed
6.6.94
Type
ECOSYSTEM
Events
Introduced
6.7.0
Fixed
6.12.34
Type
ECOSYSTEM
Events
Introduced
6.13.0
Fixed
6.15.3

Database specific

source
"https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2025-38170.json"