CVE-2025-38593 | Bluetooth: hci_sync: fix double free in 'hci_discovery_filter_clear()'

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Bluetooth: hci_sync: fix double free in 'hci_discovery_filter_clear()' Function 'hci_discovery_filter_clear()' frees 'uuids' array and then sets it to NULL. There is a tiny chance of the following race: 'hci_cmd_sync_work()' 'update_passive_scan_sync()' 'hci_update_passive_scan_sync()' 'hci_discovery_filter_clear()' kfree(uuids); <-------------------------preempted--------------------------------> 'start_service_discovery()' 'hci_discovery_filter_clear()' kfree(uuids); // DOUBLE FREE <-------------------------preempted--------------------------------> uuids = NULL; To fix it let's add locking around 'kfree()' call and NULL pointer assignment. Otherwise the following backtrace fires: [ ] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ ] kernel BUG at mm/slub.c:547! [ ] Internal error: Oops - BUG: 00000000f2000800 [#1] PREEMPT SMP [ ] CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 246 Comm: bluetoothd Tainted: G O 6.12.19-kernel #1 [ ] Tainted: [O]=OOT_MODULE [ ] pstate: 60400005 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) [ ] pc : __slab_free+0xf8/0x348 [ ] lr : __slab_free+0x48/0x348 ... [ ] Call trace: [ ] __slab_free+0xf8/0x348 [ ] kfree+0x164/0x27c [ ] start_service_discovery+0x1d0/0x2c0 [ ] hci_sock_sendmsg+0x518/0x924 [ ] __sock_sendmsg+0x54/0x60 [ ] sock_write_iter+0x98/0xf8 [ ] do_iter_readv_writev+0xe4/0x1c8 [ ] vfs_writev+0x128/0x2b0 [ ] do_writev+0xfc/0x118 [ ] __arm64_sys_writev+0x20/0x2c [ ] invoke_syscall+0x68/0xf0 [ ] el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x40/0xe0 [ ] do_el0_svc+0x1c/0x28 [ ] el0_svc+0x30/0xd0 [ ] el0t_64_sync_handler+0x100/0x12c [ ] el0t_64_sync+0x194/0x198 [ ] Code: 8b0002e6 eb17031f 54fffbe1 d503201f (d4210000) [ ] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

Published: 2025-08-19 Last update: 2025-12-06 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2025-38593 is rated Low Risk (32.2/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-38593

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-08-20 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-38593

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-38593

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-38593

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2025-38593 unimportant priority: Debian including 2 source packages (linux, linux-6.1), 6 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 6. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2025-38593
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38593
suse medium CVE-2025-38593 severity moderate: SUSE including 474 source package names (2.1.3-6.80:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-35.1.21.12, 2.1.3-7.57:kernel-default-6.4.0-35.1, …), 1044 product×package rows across 211 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (211 product lines)): Fixed 627, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 165, First Fixed 21. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-38593/
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-38593 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1414 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1017, ignored 161, released 133, not-affected 96, needed 3, needs-triage 2, pending 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-38593

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-38593

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 5.17, < 6.6.117 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.42 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.15.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.16, < 6.16.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-38593

cvelogic Threat Intelligence