Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39766

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.297 / 5.10.241 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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: net/sched: Make cake_enqueue return NET_XMIT_CN when past buffer_limit The following setup can trigger a WARNING in htb_activate due to the condition: !cl->leaf.q->q.qlen tc qdisc del dev lo root tc qdisc add dev lo root handle 1: htb default 1 tc class add dev lo parent 1: classid 1:1 \ htb rate 64bit tc qdisc add dev lo parent 1:1 handle f: \ cake memlimit 1b ping -I lo -f -c1 -s64 -W0.001 127.0.0.1 This is because the low memlimit leads to a low buffer_limit, which causes packet dropping. However, cake_enqueue still returns NET_XMIT_SUCCESS, causing htb_enqueue to call htb_activate with an empty child qdisc. We should return NET_XMIT_CN when packets are dropped from the same tin and flow. I do not believe return value of NET_XMIT_CN is necessary for packet drops in the case of ack filtering, as that is meant to optimize performance, not to signal congestion.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 4.19, < 5.4.297>= 5.5, < 5.10.241>= 5.11, < 5.15.190>= 5.16, < 6.1.149>= 6.2, < 6.6.103>= 6.7, < 6.12.44>= 6.13, < 6.16.4= 6.17
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 11.0

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 5.4.297 / 5.10.241 / 5.15.190 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2975.10.2415.15.190
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.1.149 or later (or 5.15.190/5.10.241/5.4.297 depending on your current branch, or latest stable 6.12.x)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Check which kernel version series you are using (e.g., 5.10.x, 6.1.x, etc.)
  3. Upgrade to a kernel version that includes the fix commit 0dacfc5372e314d1219f03e64dde3ab495a5a25e
  4. For kernel 4.19.x: upgrade to 5.4.297 or later
  5. For kernel 5.5-5.10.x: upgrade to 5.10.241 or later
  6. For kernel 5.11-5.15.x: upgrade to 5.15.190 or later
  7. For kernel 5.16-6.1.x: upgrade to 6.1.149 or later
  8. For kernel 6.2+: the fix is already included in mainline; upgrade to latest stable (6.12.x or later)
Caveat Standard kernel upgrade risks apply - ensure proprietary kernel modules (NVIDIA, etc.) are compatible with the new kernel version

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 $1,950. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2025-39766 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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