CVE-2025-40260
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided

BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-12-04

Last updated on: 2025-12-04

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched_ext: Fix scx_enable() crash on helper kthread creation failure A crash was observed when the sched_ext selftests runner was terminated with Ctrl+\ while test 15 was running: NIP [c00000000028fa58] scx_enable.constprop.0+0x358/0x12b0 LR [c00000000028fa2c] scx_enable.constprop.0+0x32c/0x12b0 Call Trace: scx_enable.constprop.0+0x32c/0x12b0 (unreliable) bpf_struct_ops_link_create+0x18c/0x22c __sys_bpf+0x23f8/0x3044 sys_bpf+0x2c/0x6c system_call_exception+0x124/0x320 system_call_vectored_common+0x15c/0x2ec kthread_run_worker() returns an ERR_PTR() on failure rather than NULL, but the current code in scx_alloc_and_add_sched() only checks for a NULL helper. Incase of failure on SIGQUIT, the error is not handled in scx_alloc_and_add_sched() and scx_enable() ends up dereferencing an error pointer. Error handling is fixed in scx_alloc_and_add_sched() to propagate PTR_ERR() into ret, so that scx_enable() jumps to the existing error path, avoiding random dereference on failure.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

Probability:
Percentile:

Meta Information

Published
2025-12-04
Last Modified
2025-12-04
Generated
2026-07-06
AI Q&A
2025-12-04
EPSS Evaluated
2026-07-05
NVD
CVE-2025-40260
EUVD
EUVD-2025-201197

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE
CWE Icon
KEV
KEV Icon
CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

Attack-Flow Graph

AI Quick Actions

Instant insights powered by AI
Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a flaw in the Linux kernel's sched_ext component where a crash occurs due to improper error handling during helper kernel thread creation failure. Specifically, when the function kthread_run_worker() fails, it returns an error pointer instead of NULL, but the code only checks for NULL. This leads to dereferencing an error pointer and causes a crash when the sched_ext selftests runner is terminated with Ctrl+\ during a specific test. The fix involves properly handling the error pointer to avoid the crash.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can cause the Linux kernel to crash unexpectedly when certain tests or operations involving sched_ext are terminated improperly. Such crashes can lead to system instability, potential denial of service, and disruption of normal operations on affected systems.

Chat Assistant

Ask questions about this CVE
Hi! I’m here to help you understand CVE-2025-40260. Ask me anything about the vulnerability, its impact, or mitigation strategies.
0/70

EPSS Chart