Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39780

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: sched/ext: Fix invalid task state transitions on class switch When enabling a sched_ext scheduler, we may trigger invalid task state transitions, resulting in warnings like the following (which can be easily reproduced by running the hotplug selftest in a loop): sched_ext: Invalid task state transition 0 -> 3 for fish[770] WARNING: CPU: 18 PID: 787 at kernel/sched/ext.c:3862 scx_set_task_state+0x7c/0xc0 ... RIP: 0010:scx_set_task_state+0x7c/0xc0 ... Call Trace: <TASK> scx_enable_task+0x11f/0x2e0 switching_to_scx+0x24/0x110 scx_enable.isra.0+0xd14/0x13d0 bpf_struct_ops_link_create+0x136/0x1a0 __sys_bpf+0x1edd/0x2c30 __x64_sys_bpf+0x21/0x30 do_syscall_64+0xbb/0x370 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f This happens because we skip initialization for tasks that are already dead (with their usage counter set to zero), but we don't exclude them during the scheduling class transition phase. Fix this by also skipping dead tasks during class swiching, preventing invalid task state transitions.

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:>= 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 6.17.1+ (or latest stable branch)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Download or obtain the appropriate fixed kernel package for your distribution
  3. Upgrade to kernel version 6.12.44 if running 6.12.x series
  4. Upgrade to kernel version 6.16.4 or later if running 6.13.x through 6.16.x series
  5. Upgrade to kernel version 6.17.1 or later if running 6.17.0
  6. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  7. Verify the kernel version after reboot using 'uname -r'
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree modules; ensure compatibility with the new kernel version before production deployment

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

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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-2025-39780 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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