CVE-2025-38449: Software Security Vulnerability Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-p8xh-x6wj-7w7g
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-416
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-38449 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) security vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-416: Use After Free) affecting Software libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The weakness occurs when the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

CVE-2025-38449 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-38449
GHSA Identifier GHSA-p8xh-x6wj-7w7g
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-416: Use After Free
Affected Product Software
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2025-38449

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Software dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2025-38449, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Software in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free, where the product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. at some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer. In Software, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/gem: Acquire references on GEM handles for framebuffers A GEM handle can be released while the GEM buffer object is attached to a DRM framebuffer. This leads to the release of the dma-buf backing the buffer object, if any. [1] Trying to use the framebuffer in further mode-setting operations leads to a segmentation fault. Most easily happens with driver that use shadow planes for vmap-ing the dma-buf during a page flip. An example is shown below. [ 156.791968] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [ 156.796830] WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 2255 at drivers/dma-buf/dma-buf.c:1527 dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430 [...] [ 156.942028] RIP: 0010:dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430 [ 157.043420] Call Trace: [ 157.045898] <TASK> [ 157.048030] ? show_trace_log_lvl+0x1af/0x2c0 [ 157.052436] ? show_trace_log_lvl+0x1af/0x2c0 [ 157.056836] ? show_trace_log_lvl+0x1af/0x2c0 [ 157.061253] ? drm_gem_shmem_vmap+0x74/0x710 [ 157.065567] ? dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430 [ 157.069446] ? __warn.cold+0x58/0xe4 [ 157.073061] ? dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430 [ 157.077111] ? report_bug+0x1dd/0x390 [ 157.080842] ? handle_bug+0x5e/0xa0 [ 157.084389] ? exc_invalid_op+0x14/0x50 [ 157.088291] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x16/0x20 [ 157.092548] ? dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430 [ 157.096663] ? dma_resv_get_singleton+0x6d/0x230 [ 157.101341] ? __pfx_dma_buf_vmap+0x10/0x10 [ 157.105588] ? __pfx_dma_resv_get_singleton+0x10/0x10 [ 157.110697] drm_gem_shmem_vmap+0x74/0x710 [ 157.114866] drm_gem_vmap+0xa9/0x1b0 [ 157.118763] drm_gem_vmap_unlocked+0x46/0xa0 [ 157.123086] drm_gem_fb_vmap+0xab/0x300 [ 157.126979] drm_atomic_helper_prepare_planes.part.0+0x487/0xb10 [ 157.133032] ? lockdep_init_map_type+0x19d/0x880 [ 157.137701] drm_atomic_helper_commit+0x13d/0x2e0 [ 157.142671] ? drm_atomic_nonblocking_commit+0xa0/0x180 [ 157.147988] drm_mode_atomic_ioctl+0x766/0xe40 [...] [ 157.346424] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- Acquiring GEM handles for the framebuffer's GEM buffer objects prevents this from happening. The framebuffer's cleanup later puts the handle references. Commit 1a148af06000 ("drm/gem-shmem: Use dma_buf from GEM object instance") triggers the segmentation fault easily by using the dma-buf field more widely. The underlying issue with reference counting has been present before. v2: - acquire the handle instead of the BO (Christian) - fix comment style (Christian) - drop the Fixes tag (Christian) - rename err_ gotos - add missing Link tag

References

NVD — CVE-2025-38449 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38449
git.kernel.org/stable/c/08480e285c... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08480e285c6a82ce689008d643e4a51db0aaef8b
git.kernel.org/stable/c/3cf520d986... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3cf520d9860d4ec9f7f32068825da31f18dd3f25
git.kernel.org/stable/c/5307dce878... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5307dce878d4126e1b375587318955bd019c3741
git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb4c956a15... WEB
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb4c956a15f8b7f870649454771fc3761f504b5f

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-38449?
CVE-2025-38449 is a security vulnerability in Software classified as a security vulnerability vulnerability under CWE-416: Use After Free.
Which Software versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches.
What version fixes CVE-2025-38449?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-38449?
CVE-2025-38449 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-38449?
CVE-2025-38449 is classified under CWE-416: Use After Free (The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2025-38449?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-p8xh-x6wj-7w7g",
  "modified" : "2025-11-19T18:31:16Z",
  "published" : "2025-07-25T18:30:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-38449" ],
  "details" : "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ndrm/gem: Acquire references on GEM handles for framebuffers\n\nA GEM handle can be released while the GEM buffer object is attached\nto a DRM framebuffer. This leads to the release of the dma-buf backing\nthe buffer object, if any. [1] Trying to use the framebuffer in further\nmode-setting operations leads to a segmentation fault. Most easily\nhappens with driver that use shadow planes for vmap-ing the dma-buf\nduring a page flip. An example is shown below.\n\n[  156.791968] ------------[ cut here ]------------\n[  156.796830] WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 2255 at drivers/dma-buf/dma-buf.c:1527 dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430\n[...]\n[  156.942028] RIP: 0010:dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430\n[  157.043420] Call Trace:\n[  157.045898]  <TASK>\n[  157.048030]  ? show_trace_log_lvl+0x1af/0x2c0\n[  157.052436]  ? show_trace_log_lvl+0x1af/0x2c0\n[  157.056836]  ? show_trace_log_lvl+0x1af/0x2c0\n[  157.061253]  ? drm_gem_shmem_vmap+0x74/0x710\n[  157.065567]  ? dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430\n[  157.069446]  ? __warn.cold+0x58/0xe4\n[  157.073061]  ? dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430\n[  157.077111]  ? report_bug+0x1dd/0x390\n[  157.080842]  ? handle_bug+0x5e/0xa0\n[  157.084389]  ? exc_invalid_op+0x14/0x50\n[  157.088291]  ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x16/0x20\n[  157.092548]  ? dma_buf_vmap+0x224/0x430\n[  157.096663]  ? dma_resv_get_singleton+0x6d/0x230\n[  157.101341]  ? __pfx_dma_buf_vmap+0x10/0x10\n[  157.105588]  ? __pfx_dma_resv_get_singleton+0x10/0x10\n[  157.110697]  drm_gem_shmem_vmap+0x74/0x710\n[  157.114866]  drm_gem_vmap+0xa9/0x1b0\n[  157.118763]  drm_gem_vmap_unlocked+0x46/0xa0\n[  157.123086]  drm_gem_fb_vmap+0xab/0x300\n[  157.126979]  drm_atomic_helper_prepare_planes.part.0+0x487/0xb10\n[  157.133032]  ? lockdep_init_map_type+0x19d/0x880\n[  157.137701]  drm_atomic_helper_commit+0x13d/0x2e0\n[  157.142671]  ? drm_atomic_nonblocking_commit+0xa0/0x180\n[  157.147988]  drm_mode_atomic_ioctl+0x766/0xe40\n[...]\n[  157.346424] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---\n\nAcquiring GEM handles for the framebuffer's GEM buffer objects prevents\nthis from happening. The framebuffer's cleanup later puts the handle\nreferences.\n\nCommit 1a148af06000 (\"drm/gem-shmem: Use dma_buf from GEM object\ninstance\") triggers the segmentation fault easily by using the dma-buf\nfield more widely. The underlying issue with reference counting has\nbeen present before.\n\nv2:\n- acquire the handle instead of the BO (Christian)\n- fix comment style (Christian)\n- drop the Fixes tag (Christian)\n- rename err_ gotos\n- add missing Link tag",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38449"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08480e285c6a82ce689008d643e4a51db0aaef8b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3cf520d9860d4ec9f7f32068825da31f18dd3f25"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5307dce878d4126e1b375587318955bd019c3741"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb4c956a15f8b7f870649454771fc3761f504b5f"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-416" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : false,
    "github_reviewed_at" : null,
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-07-25T16:15:30Z"
  }
}