CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2025-39881 — Linux Linux Kernel security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.8

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kernfs: Fix UAF in polling when open file is released A use-after-free (UAF) vulnerability was identified in the PSI (Pressure Stall Information) monitoring mechanism: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in psi_trigger_poll+0x3c/0x140 Read of size 8 at addr ffff3de3d50bd308 by task systemd/1 psi_trigger_poll+0x3c/0x140 cgroup_pressure_poll+0x70/0xa0 cgroup_file_poll+0x8c/0x100 kernfs_fop_poll+0x11c/0x1c0 ep_item_poll.isra.0+0x188/0x2c0 Allocated by task 1: cgroup_file_open+0x88/0x388 kernfs_fop_open+0x73c/0xaf0 do_dentry_open+0x5fc/0x1200 vfs_open+0xa0/0x3f0 do_open+0x7e8/0xd08 path_openat+0x2fc/0x6b0 do_filp_open+0x174/0x368 Freed by task 8462: cgroup_file_release+0x130/0x1f8 kernfs_drain_open_files+0x17c/0x440 kernfs_drain+0x2dc/0x360 kernfs_show+0x1b8/0x288 cgroup_file_show+0x150/0x268 cgroup_pressure_write+0x1dc/0x340 cgroup_file_write+0x274/0x548 Reproduction Steps: 1. Open test/cpu.pressure and establish epoll monitoring 2. Disable monitoring: echo 0 > test/cgroup.pressure 3. Re-enable monitoring: echo 1 > test/cgroup.pressure The race condition occurs because: 1. When cgroup.pressure is disabled (echo 0 > cgrou…

Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Published
2025-09-23
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel
Weaknesses
CWE-416

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel
  • linux / linux_kernel / 6.17
  • debian / debian_linux / 11.0

Showing 3 representative product identities from 10 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Use-after-free, double free, and expired resource use

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace ownership, references, callbacks, asynchronous tasks, and teardown paths around the affected object or resource.
  • Identify reachable inputs and timing or state transitions that can release the object while references remain.
  • Confirm affected builds, allocators, feature flags, architectures, and process privileges.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained ownership or lifetime fix and rebuild all artifacts containing the affected native code.
  • Use explicit ownership, safe reference management, cancellation and join semantics, and idempotent teardown.
  • Add deterministic lifetime tests plus isolated sanitizer and concurrency coverage for shutdown and error paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.