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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39765

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.44 / 6.16.4 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ALSA: timer: fix ida_free call while not allocated In the snd_utimer_create() function, if the kasprintf() function return NULL, snd_utimer_put_id() will be called, finally use ida_free() to free the unallocated id 0. the syzkaller reported the following information: ------------[ cut here ]------------ ida_free called for id=0 which is not allocated. WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 1286 at lib/idr.c:592 ida_free+0x1fd/0x2f0 lib/idr.c:592 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1286 Comm: syz-executor164 Not tainted 6.15.8 #3 PREEMPT(lazy) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-4.fc42 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:ida_free+0x1fd/0x2f0 lib/idr.c:592 Code: f8 fc 41 83 fc 3e 76 69 e8 70 b2 f8 (...) RSP: 0018:ffffc900007f79c8 EFLAGS: 00010282 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 1ffff920000fef3b RCX: ffffffff872176a5 RDX: ffff88800369d200 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: ffff88800369d200 RBP: 0000000000000000 R08: ffffffff87ba60a5 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 0000000000000002 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 0000000000000000 FS: 00007f6f1abc1740(0000) GS:ffff8880d76a0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f6f1ad7a784 CR3: 000000007a6e2000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 Call Trace: <TASK> snd_utimer_put_id sound/core/timer.c:2043 [inline] [snd_timer] snd_utimer_create+0x59b/0x6a0 sound/core/timer.c:2184 [snd_timer] snd_utimer_ioctl_create sound/core/timer.c:2202 [inline] [snd_timer] __snd_timer_user_ioctl.isra.0+0x724/0x1340 sound/core/timer.c:2287 [snd_timer] snd_timer_user_ioctl+0x75/0xc0 sound/core/timer.c:2298 [snd_timer] vfs_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:51 [inline] __do_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:907 [inline] __se_sys_ioctl fs/ioctl.c:893 [inline] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x198/0x200 fs/ioctl.c:893 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x7b/0x160 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [...] The utimer->id should be set properly before the kasprintf() function, ensures the snd_utimer_put_id() function will free the allocated id.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.12, < 6.12.44>= 6.13, < 6.16.4= 6.17

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.12.44 / 6.16.4 or later
Fixed in 6.12.446.16.4
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux kernel 6.12.44, 6.16.4, or later stable releases (6.13.x-6.15.x should upgrade to 6.16.4+, 6.17.x to later release)

  1. 1. Identify the currently running Linux kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. 2. Determine if the running kernel version is affected: >= 6.12 and < 6.12.44, OR >= 6.13 and < 6.16.4, OR exactly 6.17
  3. 3. If affected, upgrade to a fixed kernel release: 6.12.44 or later for the 6.12.y branch, 6.16.4 or later for the 6.13.y-6.15.y branches, or a version after 6.17 for the 6.17.y branch
  4. 4. Reboot the system into the updated kernel
  5. 5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the specific commit (34327b362ce2849a5eb02f47e800049e7a20a0ba) is included in the changelog
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting services; ensure compatibility with custom modules or drivers before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-39765 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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