CVE-2025-68746

Local privilege escalation via stale transfer pointer

Published Dec 24, 2025 · Updated Dec 24, 2025

Use-after-free in the Tegra210 QSPI driver in affected Linux kernel branches allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through timed transfers. The timeout path frees pending transfer state but leaves curr_xfer pointing to stale memory, so a delayed threaded IRQ later dereferences reclaimed data. Reachability requires access to an exposed SPI or MTD interface and enough CPU or interrupt contention to delay the handler; successful exploitation can disclose or corrupt kernel memory, elevate privileges, or panic the host.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in the Tegra210 QSPI driver in affected Linux kernel branches allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through timed transfers. The timeout path frees pending transfer state but leaves curr_xfer pointing to stale memory, so a delayed threaded IRQ later dereferences reclaimed data. Reachability requires access to an exposed SPI or MTD interface and enough CPU or interrupt contention to delay the handler; successful exploitation can disclose or corrupt kernel memory, elevate privileges, or panic the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-68746
Published
Dec 24, 2025
Updated
Dec 24, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 24, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 24, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.12
  2. Affected versionversion=921fc1838fb036f690b8ba52e6a6d3644b475cbb <01bbf25c767219b14c3235bfa85906b8d2cb8fbc
  3. Affected versionversion=921fc1838fb036f690b8ba52e6a6d3644b475cbb <551060efb156c50fe33799038ba8145418cfdeef
  4. Affected versionversion=921fc1838fb036f690b8ba52e6a6d3644b475cbb <b4e002d8a7cee3b1d70efad0e222567f92a73000
  5. Affected versionversion=921fc1838fb036f690b8ba52e6a6d3644b475cbb <bb0c58be84f907285af45657c1d4847b960a12bf

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.12; version=921fc1838fb036f690b8ba52e6a6d3644b475cbb <01bbf25c767219b14c3235bfa85906b8d2cb8fbc; version=921fc1838fb036f690b8ba52e6a6d3644b475cbb <551060efb156c50fe33799038ba8145418cfdeef; version=921fc1838fb036f690b8ba52e6a6d3644b475cbb <b4e002d8a7cee3b1d70efad0e222567f92a73000; version=921fc1838fb036f690b8ba52e6a6d3644b475cbb <bb0c58be84f907285af45657c1d4847b960a12bf

Published CVSS scores

7.8Linux kernel CVE teamCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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

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Your stack

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