CVE-2025-37805: sound/virtio: Fix cancel_sync warnings on uninitialized work_structs

Published May 8, 2025
·
Updated

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

sound/virtio: Fix cancelsync warnings on uninitialized workstructs

Betty reported hitting the following warning:

[ 8.709131][ T221] WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 221 at kernel/workqueue.c:4182 ... [ 8.713282][ T221] Call trace: [ 8.713365][ T221] flushwork+0x8d0/0x914 [ 8.713468][ T221] cancelworksync+0xac/0xfc [ 8.713570][ T221] cancelworksync+0x24/0x34 [ 8.713667][ T221] virtsndremove+0xa8/0xf8 [virtiosnd ab15f34d0dd772f6d11327e08a81d46dc9c36276] [ 8.713868][ T221] virtsndprobe+0x48c/0x664 [virtiosnd ab15f34d0dd772f6d11327e08a81d46dc9c36276] [ 8.714035][ T221] virtiodevprobe+0x28c/0x390 [ 8.714139][ T221] reallyprobe+0x1bc/0x4c8 ...

It seems we're hitting the error path in virtsndprobe(), which triggers a virtsndremove() which iterates over the substreams calling cancelworksync() on the elapsedperiod workstruct.

Looking at the code, from earlier in: virtsndprobe()->virtsndbuilddevs()->virtsndpcmparsecfg()

We set snd->nsubstreams, allocate the snd->substreams, and if we then hit an error on the info allocation or something in virtsndctlqueryinfo() fails, we will exit without having initialized the elapsedperiod workstruct.

When that error path unwinds we then call virtsndremove() which as long as the substreams array is allocated, will iterate through calling cancelworksync() on the uninitialized work struct hitting this warning.

Takashi Iwai suggested this fix, which initializes the substreams structure right after allocation, so that if we hit the error paths we avoid trying to cleanup uninitialized data.

Note: I have not yet managed to reproduce the issue myself, so this patch has had limited testing.

Feedback or thoughts would be appreciated!

Affected Software

8 affected componentsFixes available
Linux Kernel
Linux Linux kernel<5.15.181
Linux Linux kernel>=5.16<6.1.136
Linux Linux kernel>=6.2<6.6.89
Linux Linux kernel>=6.7<6.12.26
Linux Linux kernel>=6.13<6.14.5
Microsoft azl3 kernel 6.6.85.1-4
Microsoft azl3 kernel 6.6.92.2-1

Event History

May 8, 2025
CVE Published
via MITRE·06:26 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·06:26 AM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·07:15 AM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Jul 11, 2025
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
Affected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
Affected Software
Updated
via Microsoft·07:00 AM
DescriptionSeverity

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2025-37805?

CVE-2025-37805 has been classified as a low severity vulnerability affecting the Linux kernel.

2

How do I fix CVE-2025-37805?

To resolve CVE-2025-37805, update the Linux kernel to the latest stable version available.

3

What does CVE-2025-37805 affect?

CVE-2025-37805 affects the Linux kernel, specifically related to the handling of work_structs in the sound/virtio subsystem.

4

Who reported CVE-2025-37805?

CVE-2025-37805 was reported by an individual named Betty.

5

What is the impact of CVE-2025-37805?

The impact of CVE-2025-37805 is mainly the occurrence of warnings related to uninitialized work_structs, which can affect system stability.

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