Use After Free in Linux

CVE-2025-39854

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ice: fix NULL access of tx->in_use in ice_ll_ts_intr Recent versions of the E810 firmware have support for an extra interrupt to handle report of the "low latency" Tx timestamps coming from the specialized low latency firmware interface. Instead of polling the registers, software can wait until the low latency interrupt is fired. This logic makes use of the Tx timestamp tracking structure, ice_ptp_tx, as it uses the same "ready" bitmap to track which Tx timestamps complete. Unfortunately, the ice_ll_ts_intr() function does not check if the tracker is initialized before its first access. This results in NULL dereference or use-after-free bugs similar to the issues fixed in the ice_ptp_ts_irq() function. Fix this by only checking the in_use bitmap (and other fields) if the tracker is marked as initialized. The reset flow will clear the init field under lock before it tears the tracker down, thus preventing any use-after-free or NULL access.

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

EPSS: 0.001 (3.9th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-39854?
CVE-2025-39854 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-09-19.
How severe is CVE-2025-39854?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-39854 known to be exploited?
1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.