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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2025-39910

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.16.8 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: mm/vmalloc, mm/kasan: respect gfp mask in kasan_populate_vmalloc() kasan_populate_vmalloc() and its helpers ignore the caller's gfp_mask and always allocate memory using the hardcoded GFP_KERNEL flag. This makes them inconsistent with vmalloc(), which was recently extended to support GFP_NOFS and GFP_NOIO allocations. Page table allocations performed during shadow population also ignore the external gfp_mask. To preserve the intended semantics of GFP_NOFS and GFP_NOIO, wrap the apply_to_page_range() calls into the appropriate memalloc scope. xfs calls vmalloc with GFP_NOFS, so this bug could lead to deadlock. There was a report here https://lkml.kernel.org/r/[email protected] This patch: - Extends kasan_populate_vmalloc() and helpers to take gfp_mask; - Passes gfp_mask down to alloc_pages_bulk() and __get_free_page(); - Enforces GFP_NOFS/NOIO semantics with memalloc_*_save()/restore() around apply_to_page_range(); - Updates vmalloc.c and percpu allocator call sites accordingly.

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:>= 5.17, < 6.16.8= 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 6.16.8 or later
Fixed in 6.16.8
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.16.8 or later (6.16.x branch), or Linux Kernel 6.18+ (6.17 branch)

  1. Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Check if the system is running a kernel version affected by this CVE (5.17 through 6.16.7 or 6.17.x)
  3. Schedule a maintenance window for kernel update
  4. Upgrade to kernel version 6.16.8 or later for the 6.16.x branch, or upgrade to 6.18+ for the 6.17 branch
  5. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  6. Verify the running kernel version with `uname -r` to confirm the fix is active
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require system reboot and could have compatibility implications with custom modules or specific hardware drivers; test in staging environment first

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-2025-39910 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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