Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2025-40201

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kernel/sys.c: fix the racy usage of task_lock(tsk->group_leader) in sys_prlimit64() paths The usage of task_lock(tsk->group_leader) in sys_prlimit64()->do_prlimit() path is very broken. sys_prlimit64() does get_task_struct(tsk) but this only protects task_struct itself. If tsk != current and tsk is not a leader, this process can exit/exec and task_lock(tsk->group_leader) may use the already freed task_struct. Another problem is that sys_prlimit64() can race with mt-exec which changes ->group_leader. In this case do_prlimit() may take the wrong lock, or (worse) ->group_leader may change between task_lock() and task_unlock(). Change sys_prlimit64() to take tasklist_lock when necessary. This is not nice, but I don't see a better fix for -stable.

Published · last modified .

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.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.001 (3.0th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 3rd percentile — 3.0% 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-2025-40201: held from 0.001 to 0.001.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: -0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 18c91bb2d87268d23868bf13508f5bc9cf04e89a, 5.18, 0

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-40201?
CVE-2025-40201 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2025-11-12.
How severe is CVE-2025-40201?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.