Kernel crash via stale USB ACM request
Published Oct 30, 2025 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux USB ACM gadget function allows local users to crash the kernel during a failed rebind. After a bind/unbind cycle leaves acm->notify_req stale, acm_bind's unified error path passes that request to gs_free_req, which dereferences ep->ops->free_request. Exploitation requires local access capable of reconfiguring the USB gadget and causing a later bind failure; the documented outcome is a kernel oops or panic.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in the Linux USB ACM gadget function allows local users to crash the kernel during a failed rebind. After a bind/unbind cycle leaves acm->notify_req stale, acm_bind's unified error path passes that request to gs_free_req, which dereferences ep->ops->free_request. Exploitation requires local access capable of reconfiguring the USB gadget and causing a later bind failure; the documented outcome is a kernel oops or panic.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-40094
- Published
- Oct 30, 2025
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 30, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=1f1ba11b64947051fc32aa15fcccef6463b433f7 <201a66d8e6630762e760e1d78f1d149da1691e7b
- Affected versionversion=1f1ba11b64947051fc32aa15fcccef6463b433f7 <2b1546f7c5fc6c44555a8e7a2b34229d1dcd2175
- Affected versionversion=1f1ba11b64947051fc32aa15fcccef6463b433f7 <47b2116e54b4a854600341487e8b55249e926324
- Affected versionversion=1f1ba11b64947051fc32aa15fcccef6463b433f7 <c4301e4dd6b32faccb744f1c2320e64235b68d3b
- Affected versionversion=1f1ba11b64947051fc32aa15fcccef6463b433f7 <c5d116862dd3ed162d079738a5ebddf9fceea850
- Affected versionversion=1f1ba11b64947051fc32aa15fcccef6463b433f7 <e348d18fb0124b662cfefb3001733b49da428215
- Affected versionversion=2.6.27
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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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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