CVE-2025-39848

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ax25: properly unshare skbs in ax25_kiss_rcv() Bernard Pidoux reported a regression apparently caused by commit c353e8983e0d ("net: introduce per netns packet chains"). skb->dev becomes NULL and we crash in __netif_receive_skb_core(). Before above commit, different kind of bugs or corruptions could happen without a major crash. But the root cause is that ax25_kiss_rcv() can queue/mangle input skb without checking if this skb is shared or not. Many thanks to Bernard Pidoux for his help, diagnosis and tests. We had a similar issue years ago fixed with commit 7aaed57c5c28 ("phonet: properly unshare skbs in phonet_rcv()").

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-09-19
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-401

CVE-2025-39848 is a Memory Leak vulnerability

What is Memory Leak?

The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.12 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.4.299, 5.10.243, 5.15.192, 6.1.151, 6.6.105, 6.12.46, 6.16.6, 6.17 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.12
Fixed in
✓ 5.4.299 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.243 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.192 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.151 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.105 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.46 6.12.x ✓ 6.16.6 6.16.x ✓ 6.17

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-39848 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-2025-39848?

    CVE-2025-39848 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a Memory Leak flaw (CWE-401) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.12 onward and has been patched in 5.4.299, 5.10.243, 5.15.192 and others. CVE-2025-39848 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-39848?

    CVE-2025-39848 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-2025-39848?

    Yes — CVE-2025-39848 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.299, 5.10.243, 5.15.192 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.12 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-39848 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-39848 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Memory Leak (CWE-401)?

    The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. View CWE-401 on MITRE CWE →