Sign in Sign up
JA · EN · FR
SecPulse
Categories
CVE-2025-40040 high CVSS 7.8

Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2025-40040)

Summary

Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2025-40040). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Exploitable via VM_MERGEABLE.

Original description

The description as published by the source.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

mm/ksm: fix flag-dropping behavior in ksm_madvise

syzkaller discovered the following crash: (kernel BUG)

[ 44.607039] ------------[ cut here ]------------
[ 44.607422] kernel BUG at mm/userfaultfd.c:2067!
[ 44.608148] Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP DEBUG_PAGEALLOC KASAN NOPTI
[ 44.608814] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 2475 Comm: reproducer Not tainted 6.16.0-rc6 #1 PREEMPT(none)
[ 44.609635] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.3-0-ga6ed6b701f0a-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
[ 44.610695] RIP: 0010:userfaultfd_release_all+0x3a8/0x460

[ 44.617726] Call Trace:
[ 44.617926]
[ 44.619284] userfaultfd_release+0xef/0x1b0
[ 44.620976] __fput+0x3f9/0xb60
[ 44.621240] fput_close_sync+0x110/0x210
[ 44.622222] __x64_sys_close+0x8f/0x120
[ 44.622530] do_syscall_64+0x5b/0x2f0
[ 44.622840] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
[ 44.623244] RIP: 0033:0x7f365bb3f227

Kernel panics because it detects UFFD inconsistency during
userfaultfd_release_all(). Specifically, a VMA which has a valid pointer
to vma->vm_userfaultfd_ctx, but no UFFD flags in vma->vm_flags.

The inconsistency is caused in ksm_madvise(): when user calls madvise()
with MADV_UNMEARGEABLE on a VMA that is registered for UFFD in MINOR mode,
it accidentally clears all flags stored in the upper 32 bits of
vma->vm_flags.

Assuming x86_64 kernel build, unsigned long is 64-bit and unsigned int and…

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD

Auto-generated summary

Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.

A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-40040 has been found in Linux kernel.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like VM_MERGEABLE over the network to misuse the product.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 7.8/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2025-40040" on the vendor's site.

CVE-2025-40040 (Linux kernel) — CVSS v3 7.8
Attack vector: local / no user interaction
Attack surface: VM_MERGEABLE
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.

❓ What is the problem

A vulnerability (unclassified) exists in Linux kernel. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via VM_MERGEABLE.

📍 Affected scope

Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel. Attack surface: VM_MERGEABLE.

🔥 Severity

Severity: High (CVSS 7.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.

🔧 How to fix

Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.

🛡️ Workaround

Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.

🔍 Detection

Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.

Response actions

Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order

  1. 1
    Identify exposure identify 
    Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.

    資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。

  2. 2
    Post-deployment verification verify 
    Confirm patched version is live in production

    パッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。

Affected packages

Linux Kernel
[{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"4.6.0"},{"fixed":"5.4.302"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.5.0"},{"fixed":"5.10.247"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.11.0"},{"fixed":"5.15.197"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"5.16.0"},{"fixed":"6.1.158"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.2.0"},{"fixed":"6.6.114"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.7.0"},{"fixed":"6.12.55"}]},{"type":"ECOSYSTEM","events":[{"introduced":"6.13.0"},{"fixed":"6.17.3"}]}]

Fix status by distribution

Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE

References

We use cookies for analytics and ad measurement. This setting applies to all Game co., Ltd. sites. Details