Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39769

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 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: bnxt_en: Fix lockdep warning during rmmod The commit under the Fixes tag added a netdev_assert_locked() in bnxt_free_ntp_fltrs(). The lock should be held during normal run-time but the assert will be triggered (see below) during bnxt_remove_one() which should not need the lock. The netdev is already unregistered by then. Fix it by calling netdev_assert_locked_or_invisible() which will not assert if the netdev is unregistered. WARNING: CPU: 5 PID: 2241 at ./include/net/netdev_lock.h:17 bnxt_free_ntp_fltrs+0xf8/0x100 [bnxt_en] Modules linked in: rpcrdma rdma_cm iw_cm ib_cm configfs ib_core bnxt_en(-) bridge stp llc x86_pkg_temp_thermal xfs tg3 [last unloaded: bnxt_re] CPU: 5 UID: 0 PID: 2241 Comm: rmmod Tainted: G S W 6.16.0 #2 PREEMPT(voluntary) Tainted: [S]=CPU_OUT_OF_SPEC, [W]=WARN Hardware name: Dell Inc. PowerEdge R730/072T6D, BIOS 2.4.3 01/17/2017 RIP: 0010:bnxt_free_ntp_fltrs+0xf8/0x100 [bnxt_en] Code: 41 5c 41 5d 41 5e 41 5f c3 cc cc cc cc 48 8b 47 60 be ff ff ff ff 48 8d b8 28 0c 00 00 e8 d0 cf 41 c3 85 c0 0f 85 2e ff ff ff <0f> 0b e9 27 ff ff ff 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 90 RSP: 0018:ffffa92082387da0 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff9e5b593d8000 RCX: 0000000000000001 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: ffffffff83dc9a70 RDI: ffffffff83e1a1cf RBP: ffff9e5b593d8c80 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: ffffffff8373a2b3 R10: 000000008100009f R11: 0000000000000001 R12: 0000000000000001 R13: ffffffffc01c4478 R14: dead000000000122 R15: dead000000000100 FS: 00007f3a8a52c740(0000) GS:ffff9e631ad1c000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 000055bb289419c8 CR3: 000000011274e001 CR4: 00000000003706f0 Call Trace: <TASK> bnxt_remove_one+0x57/0x180 [bnxt_en] pci_device_remove+0x39/0xc0 device_release_driver_internal+0xa5/0x130 driver_detach+0x42/0x90 bus_remove_driver+0x61/0xc0 pci_unregister_driver+0x38/0x90 bnxt_exit+0xc/0x7d0 [bnxt_en]

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-667

Shared resources are accessed without correct locking, so concurrent operations interleave into inconsistent — and sometimes exploitable — states, or deadlock the service outright. These bugs are subtle and timing-dependent. The fix is correct, consistent locking or atomic operations around every shared resource.

General guidance for the improper locking 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:>= 6.15, < 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 6.16.4 or later
Fixed in 6.16.4
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.16.4 or later (or 6.17.x if available)

  1. Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 6.16.4 or later, or to a version that includes the patch commit 4611d88a37cfc18cbabc6978aaf7325d1ae3f53a
  2. After upgrading, reboot the system to load the new kernel
  3. Verify the fix by unloading and loading the bnxt_en module (rmmod/modprobe) to ensure no lockdep warnings occur
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching driver versions and could have compatibility implications with user-space tools

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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-39769 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2025-39769 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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