Out-of-bounds Read in Linux

CVE-2025-39853

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i40e: Fix potential invalid access when MAC list is empty list_first_entry() never returns NULL - if the list is empty, it still returns a pointer to an invalid object, leading to potential invalid memory access when dereferenced. Fix this by using list_first_entry_or_null instead of list_first_entry.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.1 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (4.9th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 5th percentile — 4.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-39853: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-39853?
CVE-2025-39853 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Out-of-bounds Read. CVSS score: 7.1/10. Published 2025-09-19.
How severe is CVE-2025-39853?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.1 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-39853 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.