CVE-2025-40271
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs/proc: fix uaf in proc_readdir_de() Pde is erased from subdir rbtree through rb_erase(), but not set the node to EMPTY, which may result in uaf access. We should use RB_CLEAR_NODE() set the erased node to EMPTY, then pde_subdir_next() will return NULL to avoid uaf access. We found an uaf issue while using stress-ng testing, need to run testcase getdent and tun in the same time. The steps of the issue is as follows: 1) use getdent to traverse dir /proc/pid/net/dev_snmp6/, and current pde is tun3; 2) in the [time windows] unregister netdevice tun3 and tun2, and erase them from rbtree. erase tun3 first, and then erase tun2. the pde(tun2) will be released to slab; 3) continue to getdent process, then pde_subdir_next() will return pde(tun2) which is released, it will case uaf access. CPU 0 | CPU 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- traverse dir /proc/pid/net/dev_snmp6/ | unregister_netdevice(tun->dev) //tun3 tun2 sys_getdents64() | iterate_dir() | proc_readdir() | proc_readdir_de() | snmp6_unregister_dev() pde_get(de); | proc_remove() read_unlock(&proc_subdir_lock); | remove_proc_subtree() | write_lock(&proc_subdir_lock); [time window] | rb_erase(&root->subdir_node, &parent->subdir); | write_unlock(&proc_subdir_lock); read_lock(&proc_subdir_lock); | next = pde_subdir_next(de); | pde_put(de); | de = next; //UAF | rbtree of dev_snmp6 | pde(tun3) / \ NULL pde(tun2)
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
3.19
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.4.302,
5.10.247,
5.15.197,
6.1.159,
6.6.117,
6.12.59,
6.17.9,
6.18
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-40271 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03de7ff197a3d0e17d0d5c58fdac99a63cba8110
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d1596d68a6f11d28f677eedf6cf5b17dbfeb491
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4cba73c4c89219beef7685a47374bf88b1022369
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2025-40271?
CVE-2025-40271 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.19 onward and has been patched in 5.4.302, 5.10.247, 5.15.197 and others. CVE-2025-40271 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-40271?
Yes — CVE-2025-40271 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.4.302, 5.10.247, 5.15.197 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 3.19 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2025-40271 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2025-40271 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.