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🛡️ CVE-2025-40272 — kernel

🟠 CVSS 7.8 — High ✅ No Known Exploit NVD
7.8
CVSS Score
0 Low4 Medium7 High9 Critical10

Description

mm/secretmem: fix use-after-free race in fault handler

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

mm/secretmem: fix use-after-free race in fault handler

When a page fault occurs in a secret memory file created with

memfd_secret(2), the kernel will allocate a new folio for it, mark the

underlying page as not-present in the direct map, and add it to the file

mapping.

If two tasks cause a fault in the same page concurrently, both could end

up allocating a folio and removing the page from the direct map, but only

one would succeed in adding the folio to the file mapping. The task that

failed undoes the effects of its attempt by (a) freeing the folio again

and (b) putting the page back into the direct map. However, by doing

these two operations in this order, the page becomes available to the

allocator again before it is placed back in the direct mapping.

If another task attempts to allocate the page between (a) and (b), and the

kernel tries to access it via the direct map, it would result in a

supervisor not-present page fault.

Fix the ordering to restore the direct map before the folio is freed.

How this vulnerability can be exploited

This issue can be reached with local access to the system, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs low-level privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high.

Affected software

CVE-2025-40272 is recorded against 2 packages.

  • kernel (from 6.13.0 up to 6.17.9)
  • unknown

Timeline and source

Published on 6 December 2025 and last revised on 12 August 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from NVD.

References

git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
git.kernel.org (Web)
github.com (Advisory)
nvd.nist.gov (Advisory)
git.kernel.org (Package)

CVE-2025-40272 on other distributions

Each distribution ships its own build and its own fixed version. Pick the one you run:

Details

Severity High
CVSS Score 7.8
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE N/A
Public Exploit ✅ No
Source NVD
Published 2025-12-06
Updated 2026-08-20
Modified 2026-08-12
Fix URL N/A

Affected Packages

Software From version Fixed in
kernel 6.13.0 6.17.9
unknown

Similar Threats

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ⓘ Data Notice: The information presented above has been compiled from publicly available internet sources. Boteraser aggregates this data solely for informational purposes and does not independently classify, evaluate, or endorse any findings about the vulnerabilities listed. The accuracy and completeness of this information is the sole responsibility of the original publishers. Boteraser and its operators accept no liability for any decisions made based on this data.