Azure Linux 3.0 Security Update: kernel (CVE-2025-38211)

high Nessus Plugin ID 295946

Synopsis

The remote Azure Linux host is missing one or more security updates.

Description

The version of kernel installed on the remote Azure Linux 3.0 host is prior to tested version. It is, therefore, affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the CVE-2025-38211 advisory.

- In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/iwcm: Fix use-after-free of work objects after cm_id destruction The commit 59c68ac31e15 (iw_cm: free cm_id resources on the last deref) simplified cm_id resource management by freeing cm_id once all references to the cm_id were removed. The references are removed either upon completion of iw_cm event handlers or when the application destroys the cm_id. This commit introduced the use-after-free condition where cm_id_private object could still be in use by event handler works during the destruction of cm_id. The commit aee2424246f9 (RDMA/iwcm: Fix a use-after-free related to destroying CM IDs) addressed this use-after- free by flushing all pending works at the cm_id destruction. However, still another use-after-free possibility remained. It happens with the work objects allocated for each cm_id_priv within alloc_work_entries() during cm_id creation, and subsequently freed in dealloc_work_entries() once all references to the cm_id are removed. If the cm_id's last reference is decremented in the event handler work, the work object for the work itself gets removed, and causes the use- after-free BUG below: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in
__pwq_activate_work+0x1ff/0x250 Read of size 8 at addr ffff88811f9cf800 by task kworker/u16:1/147091 CPU:
2 UID: 0 PID: 147091 Comm: kworker/u16:1 Not tainted 6.15.0-rc2+ #27 PREEMPT(voluntary) Hardware name:
QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-3.fc41 04/01/2014 Workqueue: 0x0 (iw_cm_wq) Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x6a/0x90 print_report+0x174/0x554 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x208/0x430 ?
__pwq_activate_work+0x1ff/0x250 kasan_report+0xae/0x170 ? __pwq_activate_work+0x1ff/0x250
__pwq_activate_work+0x1ff/0x250 pwq_dec_nr_in_flight+0x8c5/0xfb0 process_one_work+0xc11/0x1460 ?
__pfx_process_one_work+0x10/0x10 ? assign_work+0x16c/0x240 worker_thread+0x5ef/0xfd0 ?
__pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x3b0/0x770 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0xb0 ?
_raw_spin_unlock_irq+0x24/0x50 ? rcu_is_watching+0x11/0xb0 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x30/0x70 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Allocated by task 147416: kasan_save_stack+0x2c/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x10/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0xa6/0xb0 alloc_work_entries+0xa9/0x260 [iw_cm] iw_cm_connect+0x23/0x4a0 [iw_cm] rdma_connect_locked+0xbfd/0x1920 [rdma_cm] nvme_rdma_cm_handler+0x8e5/0x1b60 [nvme_rdma] cma_cm_event_handler+0xae/0x320 [rdma_cm] cma_work_handler+0x106/0x1b0 [rdma_cm] process_one_work+0x84f/0x1460 worker_thread+0x5ef/0xfd0 kthread+0x3b0/0x770 ret_from_fork+0x30/0x70 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 Freed by task 147091:
kasan_save_stack+0x2c/0x50 kasan_save_track+0x10/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x37/0x60
__kasan_slab_free+0x4b/0x70 kfree+0x13a/0x4b0 dealloc_work_entries+0x125/0x1f0 [iw_cm] iwcm_deref_id+0x6f/0xa0 [iw_cm] cm_work_handler+0x136/0x1ba0 [iw_cm] process_one_work+0x84f/0x1460 worker_thread+0x5ef/0xfd0 kthread+0x3b0/0x770 ret_from_fork+0x30/0x70 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 Last potentially related work creation: kasan_save_stack+0x2c/0x50 kasan_record_aux_stack+0xa3/0xb0
__queue_work+0x2ff/0x1390 queue_work_on+0x67/0xc0 cm_event_handler+0x46a/0x820 [iw_cm] siw_cm_upcall+0x330/0x650 [siw] siw_cm_work_handler+0x6b9/0x2b20 [siw] process_one_work+0x84f/0x1460 worker_thread+0x5ef/0xfd0 kthread+0x3b0/0x770 ret_from_fork+0x30/0x70 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 This BUG is reproducible by repeating the blktests test case nvme/061 for the rdma transport and the siw driver. To avoid the use-after-free of cm_id_private work objects, ensure that the last reference to the cm_id is decremented not in the event handler works, but in the cm_id destruction context. For that purpose, mo
---truncated--- (CVE-2025-38211)

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

Solution

Update the affected packages.

See Also

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38211

Plugin Details

Severity: High

ID: 295946

File Name: azure_linux_CVE-2025-38211.nasl

Version: 1.1

Type: local

Published: 1/22/2026

Updated: 1/22/2026

Supported Sensors: Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 6.7

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 6.8

Temporal Score: 5

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2025-38211

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: High

Base Score: 7.8

Temporal Score: 6.8

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel-tools, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel-devel, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel-debuginfo, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel-docs, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel-drivers-intree-amdgpu, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:bpftool, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:python3-perf, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel-drivers-gpu, x-cpe:/o:microsoft:azure_linux, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel-drivers-sound, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel, p-cpe:/a:microsoft:azure_linux:kernel-drivers-accessibility

Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/cpu, Host/AzureLinux/release, Host/AzureLinux/rpm-list

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 8/12/2025

Vulnerability Publication Date: 7/4/2025

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2025-38211