CVE-2025-39684

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: comedi: Fix use of uninitialized memory in do_insn_ioctl() and do_insnlist_ioctl() syzbot reports a KMSAN kernel-infoleak in `do_insn_ioctl()`. A kernel buffer is allocated to hold `insn->n` samples (each of which is an `unsigned int`). For some instruction types, `insn->n` samples are copied back to user-space, unless an error code is being returned. The problem is that not all the instruction handlers that need to return data to userspace fill in the whole `insn->n` samples, so that there is an information leak. There is a similar syzbot report for `do_insnlist_ioctl()`, although it does not have a reproducer for it at the time of writing. One culprit is `insn_rw_emulate_bits()` which is used as the handler for `INSN_READ` or `INSN_WRITE` instructions for subdevices that do not have a specific handler for that instruction, but do have an `INSN_BITS` handler. For `INSN_READ` it only fills in at most 1 sample, so if `insn->n` is greater than 1, the remaining `insn->n - 1` samples copied to userspace will be uninitialized kernel data. Another culprit is `vm80xx_ai_insn_read()` in the "vm80xx" driver. It never returns an error, even if it fails to fill the buffer. Fix it in `do_insn_ioctl()` and `do_insnlist_ioctl()` by making sure that uninitialized parts of the allocated buffer are zeroed before handling each instruction. Thanks to Arnaud Lecomte for their fix to `do_insn_ioctl()`. That fix replaced the call to `kmalloc_array()` with `kcalloc()`, but it is not always necessary to clear the whole buffer.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-09-05
Last modified 2026-05-12
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-908

CVE-2025-39684 is classified as CWE-908

See CWE-908 on MITRE CWE for full details on this weakness type.

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.29 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103, 6.12.44, 6.16.4, 6.17 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.29
Fixed in
✓ 5.15.190 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.149 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.103 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.44 6.12.x ✓ 6.16.4 6.16.x ✓ 6.17

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-39684 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2025-39684?

    CVE-2025-39684 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.29 onward and has been patched in 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103 and others. CVE-2025-39684 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-39684?

    CVE-2025-39684 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-39684?

    Yes — CVE-2025-39684 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.190, 6.1.149, 6.6.103 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.29 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-39684 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-39684 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.