Local privilege escalation via font-size integer overflow
Published Oct 15, 2025 · Updated Oct 15, 2025
Integer overflow in Linux kernel fbcon allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through a virtual-console font-setting ioctl. In fbcon_do_set_font, unchecked height, pitch, and character-count multiplication and an extra-word addition can wrap, producing an undersized allocation before font data is copied. An ordinary user controlling a virtual terminal can reach the ioctl without an additional user action, enabling kernel-memory disclosure or modification and a system panic.
Summary
What happened
Integer overflow in Linux kernel fbcon allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through a virtual-console font-setting ioctl. In fbcon_do_set_font, unchecked height, pitch, and character-count multiplication and an extra-word addition can wrap, producing an undersized allocation before font data is copied. An ordinary user controlling a virtual terminal can reach the ioctl without an additional user action, enabling kernel-memory disclosure or modification and a system panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-39967
- Published
- Oct 15, 2025
- Updated
- Oct 15, 2025
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-190, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 15, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 15, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=2c455e9c5865861f5ce09c5f596909495ed7657c
- Affected versionversion=34cf1aff169dc6dedad8d79da7bf1b4de2773dbc
- Affected versionversion=39b3cffb8cf3111738ea993e2757ab382253d86a <1a194e6c8e1ee745e914b0b7f50fa86c89ed13fe
- Affected versionversion=39b3cffb8cf3111738ea993e2757ab382253d86a <4a4bac869560f943edbe3c2b032062f6673b13d3
- Affected versionversion=39b3cffb8cf3111738ea993e2757ab382253d86a <9c8ec14075c5317edd6b242f1be8167aa1e4e333
- Affected versionversion=39b3cffb8cf3111738ea993e2757ab382253d86a <a6eb9f423b3db000aaedf83367b8539f6b72dcfc
- Affected versionversion=39b3cffb8cf3111738ea993e2757ab382253d86a <adac90bb1aaf45ca66f9db8ac100be16750ace78
- Affected versionversion=39b3cffb8cf3111738ea993e2757ab382253d86a <b8a6e85328aeb9881531dbe89bcd2637a06c3c95
- Affected versionversion=39b3cffb8cf3111738ea993e2757ab382253d86a <c0c01f9aa08c8e10e10e8c9ebb5be01a4eff6eb7
- Affected versionversion=451bffa366f2cc0e5314807cb847f31c0226efed
- Affected versionversion=5.9
- Affected versionversion=72f099805dbc907fbe8fa19bccdc31d3e2ee6e9e
- Affected versionversion=96e41fc29e8af5c5085fb8a79cab8d0d00bab86c <994bdc2d23c79087fbf7dcd9544454e8ebcef877
- Affected versionversion=ae021a904ac82d9fc81c25329d3c465c5a7d5686
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
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo