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Vulnerabilities/CVE-2025-39966Public Intelligence Dossier
Source: linux · Limited verification•Last verified: •Collection Degraded
CVE-2025-39966Unknown / EvaluatingHIGH (raw)CVSS 7.8CWE-362

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommufd: Fix race during abort for file descriptors fput() doesn't actually call file_operations release() synchronously, it puts the file on a work queue and it will be released eventually

Published: 15 Oct 2025•Last updated: 20 Oct 2026, 02:40 AM IST•Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Dossier completeness: source-provided sections 2 / 3 · rule guidance available. Missing source facts count as incomplete.
Official source
CISA KEV catalog
Unknown
KEV status was not determined.
CVSS score
7.8HIGH (raw)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Metric source416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
EPSS probability
0.1%0.001
Percentile1st
Weakness type
CWE-362
No further CWE recorded
Remediation
Patch status unknown
No fixed version or KB recorded

Why It Matters

Analysis dossier

Why It Matters

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iommufd: Fix race during abort for file descriptors fput() doesn't actually call file_operations release() synchronously, it puts the file on a work queue and it will be released eventually. This is normally fine, except for iommufd the file and the iommufd_object are tied to gether. The file has the object as it's private_data and holds a users refcount, while the object is expected to remain alive as long as the file is. When the allocation of a new object aborts before installing the file it will fput() the file and then go on to immediately kfree() the obj. This causes a UAF once the workqueue completes the fput() and tries to decrement the users refcount. Fix this by putting the core code in charge of the file lifetime, and call __fput_sync() during abort to ensure that release() is called before kfree. __fput_sync() is a bit too tricky to open code in all the object implementations. Instead the objects tell the core code where the file pointer is and the core will take care of the life cycle. If the object is successfully allocated then the file will hold a users refcount and the iommufd_object cannot be destroyed. It is worth noting that close(); ioctl(IOMMU_DESTROY); doesn't have an issue because close() is already using a synchronous version of fput(). The UAF looks like this: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in iommufd_eventq_fops_release+0x45/0xc0 drivers/iommu/iommufd/eventq.c:376 Write of size 4 at addr ffff888059c97804 by task syz.0.46/6164 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 6164 Comm: syz.0.46 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 08/18/2025 Call Trace: __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline] dump_stack_lvl+0x116/0x1f0 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0xcd/0x630 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0xe0/0x110 mm/kasan/report.c:595 check_region_inline mm/kasan/generic.c:183 [inline] kasan_check_range+0x100/0x1b0 mm/kasan/generic.c:189 instrument_atomic_read_write include/linux/instrumented.h:96 [inline] atomic_fetch_sub_release include/linux/atomic/atomic-instrumented.h:400 [inline] __refcount_dec include/linux/refcount.h:455 [inline] refcount_dec include/linux/refcount.h:476 [inline] iommufd_eventq_fops_release+0x45/0xc0 drivers/iommu/iommufd/eventq.c:376 __fput+0x402/0xb70 fs/file_table.c:468 task_work_run+0x14d/0x240 kernel/task_work.c:227 resume_user_mode_work include/linux/resume_user_mode.h:50 [inline] exit_to_user_mode_loop+0xeb/0x110 kernel/entry/common.c:43 exit_to_user_mode_prepare include/linux/irq-entry-common.h:225 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode_work include/linux/entry-common.h:175 [inline] syscall_exit_to_user_mode include/linux/entry-common.h:210 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x41c/0x4c0 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:100 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

SOC priority

High

Actively exploited

Unknown

Publicly disclosed

Unknown

Risk basis: SOC ecosystem technology relevance; HIGH severity; No confirmed exploitation signal in current enrichment

Affected Products & Remediation

1 source-backed product
Affected products and versions (source)
  • linux linux kernel · >= 6.11 < 6.12.50; >= 6.13 < 6.16.10; 6.17 · NVD CPE · Source
Recorded patch / KBNot provided by source

Vendor or catalog guidance (source)

Not provided by source

Known exploitation (source facts)

Only what a source states. Unknown means no source has said either way; it is not "not exploited".

CISA KEV
Unknown
Exploited (source statement)
Unknown
Publicly disclosed (source)
Unknown

Suggested hunting (rule-based inference)

SecOps Signal recommendation (rule-based inference). These steps are hunting hypotheses from the vulnerability class; they do not state or imply that exploitation occurred here or anywhere.

Matched local-privilege-escalation (CVSS AV:L, CVSS PR:L)

Exposure

  1. Identify hosts reporting this CVE, prioritising shared or multi-user systems.Telemetry: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities · A local, low-privilege vector matters most where untrusted users can run code. · Rule local-privilege-escalation

Exploitation evidence

  1. Look for low-privileged processes spawning SYSTEM or root-level child processes on affected hosts.Telemetry: DeviceProcessEvents · Hunting hypothesis from the CVSS vector; privilege transitions are a focused starting point, not evidence of attack. · Rule local-privilege-escalation

Response

  1. Confirm the source-stated update on affected hosts.Telemetry: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities · Host inventory can verify remediation. · Rule local-privilege-escalation

CISA KEV Record

CISA KEV status was not determined for this record.

Change History & Source Data

— No recorded material change

CNA / source
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record status · verification
UPDATED · NVD API
CPE
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*, cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*

Linked by the query's stored exact CVE association. Review required tables and validation status before use.

Detection Hunting Query
Target: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities•Defender XDR
Detect endpoints exposed to CVE-2025-39966
Purpose: Exposure assessment (Category: Exposure Check)Why linked: Query metadata names CVE-2025-39966
DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities| where CveId == "CVE-2025-39966"| project DeviceId, DeviceName, OSPlatform, OSVersion, SoftwareVendor, SoftwareName, SoftwareVersion, CveId, VulnerabilitySeverityLevel, RecommendedSecurityUpdate, RecommendedSecurityUpdateId| sort by VulnerabilitySeverityLevel desc
Schema Checked · Not runtime validatedSource: SecOps Signal deterministic template · Limited verificationStatic screening: Passed structure and schema checks; tenant execution is not verified.
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Correlated briefings

SecOps Signal surfaces public advisory facts only. A missing value means the source has not published it, not that your environment is unaffected. No tenant inventory is connected.