Local privilege escalation via stale futex pointer
Published Sep 5, 2025 · Updated Sep 5, 2025
Use-after-free in io_uring futex handling in the Linux kernel allows local users to execute code with kernel privileges. On a failed IORING_OP_FUTEX_WAIT request, io_futex_wait() frees io_futex_data without clearing req->async_data or its validity flag, so a recycled io_kiocb later dereferences attacker-reclaimed memory as an io_poll object. Low-privileged local code can trigger the deterministic error path when unprivileged io_uring is enabled, leading to kernel privilege escalation or a kernel panic.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in io_uring futex handling in the Linux kernel allows local users to execute code with kernel privileges. On a failed IORING_OP_FUTEX_WAIT request, io_futex_wait() frees io_futex_data without clearing req->async_data or its validity flag, so a recycled io_kiocb later dereferences attacker-reclaimed memory as an io_poll object. Low-privileged local code can trigger the deterministic error path when unprivileged io_uring is enabled, leading to kernel privilege escalation or a kernel panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-39698
- Published
- Sep 5, 2025
- Updated
- Sep 5, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-416, CWE-672, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 5, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 5, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=194bb58c6090e39bd7d9b9c888a079213628e1f6 <508c1314b342b78591f51c4b5dadee31a88335df
- Affected versionversion=194bb58c6090e39bd7d9b9c888a079213628e1f6 <d34c04152df517c59979b4bf2a47f491e06d3256
- Affected versionversion=194bb58c6090e39bd7d9b9c888a079213628e1f6 <d9f93172820a53ab42c4b0e5e65291f4f9d00ad2
- Affected versionversion=6.7
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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