CVE-2025-38682

Source
https://cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38682
Import Source
https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2025-38682.json
JSON Data
https://api.osv.dev/v1/vulns/CVE-2025-38682
Downstream
Published
2025-09-04T15:32:37Z
Modified
2026-08-12T03:51:25Z
Summary
i2c: core: Fix double-free of fwnode in i2c_unregister_device()
Details

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

i2c: core: Fix double-free of fwnode in i2c_unregister_device()

Before commit df6d7277e552 ("i2c: core: Do not dereference fwnode in struct device"), i2c_unregister_device() only called fwnode_handle_put() on of_node-s in the form of calling of_node_put(client->dev.of_node).

But after this commit the i2c_client's fwnode now unconditionally gets fwnode_handle_put() on it.

When the i2c_client has no primary (ACPI / OF) fwnode but it does have a software fwnode, the software-node will be the primary node and fwnode_handle_put() will put() it.

But for the software fwnode device_remove_software_node() will also put() it leading to a double free:

[ 82.665598] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 82.665609] refcount_t: underflow; use-after-free. [ 82.665808] WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 1502 at lib/refcount.c:28 refcount_warn_saturate+0xba/0x11 ... [ 82.666830] RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0xba/0x110 ... [ 82.666962] [ 82.666971] i2c_unregister_device+0x60/0x90

Fix this by not calling fwnode_handle_put() when the primary fwnode is a software-node.

Database specific
{
    "cna_assigner": "Linux",
    "osv_generated_from": "https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2025/38xxx/CVE-2025-38682.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
df6d7277e5525d6cce63127dd93ebec4c6354fa0
Fixed
ffe02f7c4e36090154646612e67d331832f92037
Fixed
1c24e5fc0c7096e00c202a6a3e0c342c1afb47c2

Database specific

source
"https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2025-38682.json"

Linux / Kernel

Package

Name
Kernel

Affected ranges

Type
ECOSYSTEM
Events
Introduced
6.16.0
Fixed
6.16.2

Database specific

source
"https://storage.googleapis.com/cve-osv-conversion/osv-output/CVE-2025-38682.json"