CVE-2025-39931
BaseFortify
Publication date: 2025-10-04
Last updated on: 2026-03-25
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
| Probability: | |
| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-UNKNOWN |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability is in the Linux kernel's crypto subsystem, specifically in the af_alg module. If an error causes the function af_alg_sendmsg to abort, a variable named ctx->merge may retain an invalid (garbage) value from a previous operation. When af_alg_sendmsg is called again, this invalid value can cause the system to crash because it attempts to perform an invalid merge operation. The fix involves resetting ctx->merge to zero early in the processing loop to prevent this issue.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to crash when the af_alg_sendmsg function encounters an error and then is called again. Such crashes can lead to system instability or denial of service, potentially disrupting services or applications relying on the affected kernel's cryptographic functions.