Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39824

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.4.298 / 5.10.242 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: HID: asus: fix UAF via HID_CLAIMED_INPUT validation After hid_hw_start() is called hidinput_connect() will eventually be called to set up the device with the input layer since the HID_CONNECT_DEFAULT connect mask is used. During hidinput_connect() all input and output reports are processed and corresponding hid_inputs are allocated and configured via hidinput_configure_usages(). This process involves slot tagging report fields and configuring usages by setting relevant bits in the capability bitmaps. However it is possible that the capability bitmaps are not set at all leading to the subsequent hidinput_has_been_populated() check to fail leading to the freeing of the hid_input and the underlying input device. This becomes problematic because a malicious HID device like a ASUS ROG N-Key keyboard can trigger the above scenario via a specially crafted descriptor which then leads to a user-after-free when the name of the freed input device is written to later on after hid_hw_start(). Below, report 93 intentionally utilises the HID_UP_UNDEFINED Usage Page which is skipped during usage configuration, leading to the frees. 0x05, 0x0D, // Usage Page (Digitizer) 0x09, 0x05, // Usage (Touch Pad) 0xA1, 0x01, // Collection (Application) 0x85, 0x0D, // Report ID (13) 0x06, 0x00, 0xFF, // Usage Page (Vendor Defined 0xFF00) 0x09, 0xC5, // Usage (0xC5) 0x15, 0x00, // Logical Minimum (0) 0x26, 0xFF, 0x00, // Logical Maximum (255) 0x75, 0x08, // Report Size (8) 0x95, 0x04, // Report Count (4) 0xB1, 0x02, // Feature (Data,Var,Abs) 0x85, 0x5D, // Report ID (93) 0x06, 0x00, 0x00, // Usage Page (Undefined) 0x09, 0x01, // Usage (0x01) 0x15, 0x00, // Logical Minimum (0) 0x26, 0xFF, 0x00, // Logical Maximum (255) 0x75, 0x08, // Report Size (8) 0x95, 0x1B, // Report Count (27) 0x81, 0x02, // Input (Data,Var,Abs) 0xC0, // End Collection Below is the KASAN splat after triggering the UAF: [ 21.672709] ================================================================== [ 21.673700] BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in asus_probe+0xeeb/0xf80 [ 21.673700] Write of size 8 at addr ffff88810a0ac000 by task kworker/1:2/54 [ 21.673700] [ 21.673700] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 54 Comm: kworker/1:2 Not tainted 6.16.0-rc4-g9773391cf4dd-dirty #36 PREEMPT(voluntary) [ 21.673700] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.2-debian-1.16.2-1 04/01/2014 [ 21.673700] Call Trace: [ 21.673700] <TASK> [ 21.673700] dump_stack_lvl+0x5f/0x80 [ 21.673700] print_report+0xd1/0x660 [ 21.673700] kasan_report+0xe5/0x120 [ 21.673700] __asan_report_store8_noabort+0x1b/0x30 [ 21.673700] asus_probe+0xeeb/0xf80 [ 21.673700] hid_device_probe+0x2ee/0x700 [ 21.673700] really_probe+0x1c6/0x6b0 [ 21.673700] __driver_probe_device+0x24f/0x310 [ 21.673700] driver_probe_device+0x4e/0x220 [...] [ 21.673700] [ 21.673700] Allocated by task 54: [ 21.673700] kasan_save_stack+0x3d/0x60 [ 21.673700] kasan_save_track+0x18/0x40 [ 21.673700] kasan_save_alloc_info+0x3b/0x50 [ 21.673700] __kasan_kmalloc+0x9c/0xa0 [ 21.673700] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x139/0x340 [ 21.673700] input_allocate_device+0x44/0x370 [ 21.673700] hidinput_connect+0xcb6/0x2630 [ 21.673700] hid_connect+0xf74/0x1d60 [ 21.673700] hid_hw_start+0x8c/0x110 [ 21.673700] asus_probe+0x5a3/0xf80 [ 21.673700] hid_device_probe+0x2ee/0x700 [ 21.673700] really_probe+0x1c6/0x6b0 [ 21.673700] __driver_probe_device+0x24f/0x310 [ 21.673700] driver_probe_device+0x4e/0x220 [...] [ 21.673700] [ 21.673700] Freed by task 54: [ 21.673700] kasan_save_stack+0x3d/0x60 [ 21.673700] kasan_save_track+0x18/0x40 [ 21.673700] kasan_save_free_info+0x3f/0x60 [ 21.673700] __kasan_slab_free+0x3c/0x50 [ 21.673700] kfre ---truncated---

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-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free 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:>= 4.10, < 5.4.298>= 5.5, < 5.10.242>= 5.11, < 5.15.191>= 5.16, < 6.1.150>= 6.2, < 6.6.104>= 6.7, < 6.12.45>= 6.13, < 6.16.5= 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 5.4.298 / 5.10.242 / 5.15.191 or later
Fixed in 5.4.2985.10.2425.15.191
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 5.4.298+/5.10.242+/5.15.191+/6.1.150+ or Debian 11 kernel update with CVE-2025-39824 fix

  1. 1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. 2. For Linux Kernel: upgrade to version 5.4.298 or later if running 5.4.x, 5.10.242 or later if running 5.10.x, 5.15.191 or later if running 5.15.x, or 6.1.150 or later if running 6.1.x
  3. 3. For Debian 11 (Bullseye): apply the Debian kernel security update that incorporates the upstream fix commit 5f3c0839b173f7f33415eb098331879e547d1d2d
  4. 4. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. 5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches or exceeds the fixed versions above using `uname -r`
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with proprietary kernel modules or specific hardware drivers

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 $3,200. 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-2025-39824 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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