Answer in brief
CVE-2025-39840 records a High severity (CVSS 7.1) vulnerability in audit: fix out-of-bounds read in audit_compare_dname_path(). The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 7.1. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Product | Affected versions | Fixed versions |
|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=e92eebb0d6116f942ab25dfb1a41905aa59472a8 <9735a9dcc307427e7d6336c54171682f1bac9789 || >=e92eebb0d6116f942ab25dfb1a41905aa59472a8 <4540f1d23e7f387880ce46d11b5cd3f27248bf8d | 9735a9dcc307427e7d6336c54171682f1bac9789, 4540f1d23e7f387880ce46d11b5cd3f27248bf8d |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 6.14 | Not reported |
Published upstream
Sep 19, 2025
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Oct 19, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Aug 5, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: fix out-of-bounds read in audit_compare_dname_path() When a watch on dir=/ is combined with an fsnotify event for a single-character name directly under / (e.g., creating /a), an out-of-bounds read can occur in audit_compare_dname_path(). The helper parent_len() returns 1 for "/". In audit_compare_dname_path(), when parentlen equals the full path length (1), the code sets p = path + 1 and pathlen = 1 - 1 = 0. The subsequent loop then dereferences p[pathlen - 1] (i.e., p[-1]), causing an out-of-bounds read. Fix this by adding a pathlen > 0 check to the while loop condition to prevent the out-of-bounds access. [PM: subject tweak, sign-off email fixes]
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.