LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2025-39946: tls: make sure to abort the stream if headers are bogus

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tls: make sure to abort the stream if headers are bogus Normally we wait for the socket to buffer up the whole record before we service it. If the socket has a tiny buffer, however, we read out the data sooner, to prevent connection stalls. Make sure that we abort the connection when we find out late that the record is actually invalid. Retrying the parsing is fine in itself but since we copy some more data each time before we parse we can overflow the allocated skb space. Constructing a scenario in which we're under pressure without enough data in the socket to parse the length upfront is quite hard. syzbot figured out a way to do this by serving us the header in small OOB sends, and then filling in the recvbuf with a large normal send. Make sure that tls_rx_msg_size() aborts strp, if we reach an invalid record there's really no way to recover.

CriticalCVSS 9.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysiscritical

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

A flaw in the Linux kernel TLS receive path can let malformed TLS record handling corrupt kernel memory. The CVE is rated critical because the published CVSS says network access, no privileges, and no user interaction are required. The source does not prove real-world exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat as urgent patching for Linux infrastructure, especially internet-facing or high-throughput TLS systems. The critical score reflects potential kernel-level impact, but exploitation evidence is limited to the provided syzbot-driven finding and CVE data.

Technical view

When a socket buffer is small, the kernel may process TLS record data before a full record is buffered. If the record header is later found invalid, retry behavior can copy additional data into allocated skb space and overflow it. The resolution aborts the stream when tls_rx_msg_size() detects an invalid record.

Likely exposure

Linux systems running affected kernel versions or branches with kernel TLS receive handling are the relevant exposure. The bundle lists Linux kernel versions including 6.0, 6.1.154, 6.6.108, 6.12.49, 6.16.9, and 6.17, but exact range semantics are incomplete here.

Exploitation context

The source says syzbot found a difficult pressure condition using fragmented header delivery and a larger normal send. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not state active exploitation or public weaponized exploit availability.

Researcher notes

Focus review on net/tls receive parsing, skb allocation boundaries, strparser abort behavior, and branch backports. The supplied source indicates recovery from invalid records is unsafe because repeated parsing can copy more data before record length validation completes.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply Linux kernel updates containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Track distribution vendor advisories for packaged kernel fixed versions.
  • Prioritize systems using kTLS or exposed TLS-heavy network services.
  • Consider reducing exposure of unneeded network services until patched.
  • Reboot into the patched kernel after installation.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across production and edge systems.
  • Check whether deployed kernels include one of the referenced stable commits.
  • Confirm systems rebooted into the patched kernel, not only installed it.
  • Review vendor advisories for branch-specific affected and fixed ranges.
  • Monitor kernel logs for TLS receive path anomalies or crashes.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2025-39946 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
6Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: yesTechnical Impact: total

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
9.8CVSS 3.1CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Linux

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

9.8Critical
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2025-39946Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417, 84c61fe1a75b4255df1e1e7c054c9e6d048da417unaffected
LinuxLinux6.0, 0, 6.1.154, 6.6.108, 6.12.49, 6.16.9, 6.17affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.