CVE-2025-40196

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs: quota: create dedicated workqueue for quota_release_work There is a kernel panic due to WARN_ONCE when panic_on_warn is set. This issue occurs when writeback is triggered due to sync call for an opened file(ie, writeback reason is WB_REASON_SYNC). When f2fs balance is needed at sync path, flush for quota_release_work is triggered. By default quota_release_work is queued to "events_unbound" queue which does not have WQ_MEM_RECLAIM flag. During f2fs balance "writeback" workqueue tries to flush quota_release_work causing kernel panic due to MEM_RECLAIM flag mismatch errors. This patch creates dedicated workqueue with WQ_MEM_RECLAIM flag for work quota_release_work. ------------[ cut here ]------------ WARNING: CPU: 4 PID: 14867 at kernel/workqueue.c:3721 check_flush_dependency+0x13c/0x148 Call trace: check_flush_dependency+0x13c/0x148 __flush_work+0xd0/0x398 flush_delayed_work+0x44/0x5c dquot_writeback_dquots+0x54/0x318 f2fs_do_quota_sync+0xb8/0x1a8 f2fs_write_checkpoint+0x3cc/0x99c f2fs_gc+0x190/0x750 f2fs_balance_fs+0x110/0x168 f2fs_write_single_data_page+0x474/0x7dc f2fs_write_data_pages+0x7d0/0xd0c do_writepages+0xe0/0x2f4 __writeback_single_inode+0x44/0x4ac writeback_sb_inodes+0x30c/0x538 wb_writeback+0xf4/0x440 wb_workfn+0x128/0x5d4 process_scheduled_works+0x1c4/0x45c worker_thread+0x32c/0x3e8 kthread+0x11c/0x1b0 ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 Kernel panic - not syncing: kernel: panic_on_warn set ...

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-11-12
Last modified 2026-04-15
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.6.64, 6.12.4, 5.4.287, 5.10.231, 5.15.174, 6.1.120, 6.13 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.6.114, 6.12.54, 6.17.4, 6.18 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 6.6.64 ≥ 6.12.4 ≥ 5.4.287 ≥ 5.10.231 ≥ 5.15.174 ≥ 6.1.120 ≥ 6.13
Fixed in
✓ 6.6.114 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.54 6.12.x ✓ 6.17.4 6.17.x ✓ 6.18

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-40196 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-2025-40196?

    CVE-2025-40196 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.6.64 onward and has been patched in 6.6.114, 6.12.54, 6.17.4 and others. CVE-2025-40196 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-40196?

    Yes — CVE-2025-40196 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.114, 6.12.54, 6.17.4 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.6.64 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2025-40196 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2025-40196 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.