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CVE Record

CVE-2025-40064: smc: Fix use-after-free in __pnet_find_base_ndev().

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: smc: Fix use-after-free in __pnet_find_base_ndev(). syzbot reported use-after-free of net_device in __pnet_find_base_ndev(), which was called during connect(). [0] smc_pnet_find_ism_resource() fetches sk_dst_get(sk)->dev and passes down to pnet_find_base_ndev(), where RTNL is held. Then, UAF happened at __pnet_find_base_ndev() when the dev is first used. This means dev had already been freed before acquiring RTNL in pnet_find_base_ndev(). While dev is going away, dst->dev could be swapped with blackhole_netdev, and the dev's refcnt by dst will be released. We must hold dev's refcnt before calling smc_pnet_find_ism_resource(). Also, smc_pnet_find_roce_resource() has the same problem. Let's use __sk_dst_get() and dst_dev_rcu() in the two functions. [0]: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in __pnet_find_base_ndev+0x1b1/0x1c0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:926 Read of size 1 at addr ffff888036bac33a by task syz.0.3632/18609 CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 18609 Comm: syz.0.3632 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 08/18/2025 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x189/0x250 lib/dump_stack.c:120 print_address_description mm/kasan/report.c:378 [inline] print_report+0xca/0x240 mm/kasan/report.c:482 kasan_report+0x118/0x150 mm/kasan/report.c:595 __pnet_find_base_ndev+0x1b1/0x1c0 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:926 pnet_find_base_ndev net/smc/smc_pnet.c:946 [inline] smc_pnet_find_ism_by_pnetid net/smc/smc_pnet.c:1103 [inline] smc_pnet_find_ism_resource+0xef/0x390 net/smc/smc_pnet.c:1154 smc_find_ism_device net/smc/af_smc.c:1030 [inline] smc_find_proposal_devices net/smc/af_smc.c:1115 [inline] __smc_connect+0x372/0x1890 net/smc/af_smc.c:1545 smc_connect+0x877/0xd90 net/smc/af_smc.c:1715 __sys_connect_file net/socket.c:2086 [inline] __sys_connect+0x313/0x440 net/socket.c:2105 __do_sys_connect net/socket.c:2111 [inline] __se_sys_connect net/socket.c:2108 [inline] __x64_sys_connect+0x7a/0x90 net/socket.c:2108 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xfa/0x3b0 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7f47cbf8eba9 Code: ff ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 40 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 a8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007f47ccdb1038 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000002a RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007f47cc1d5fa0 RCX: 00007f47cbf8eba9 RDX: 0000000000000010 RSI: 0000200000000280 RDI: 000000000000000b RBP: 00007f47cc011e19 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 00007f47cc1d6038 R14: 00007f47cc1d5fa0 R15: 00007ffc512f8aa8 </TASK> The buggy address belongs to the physical page: page: refcount:0 mapcount:0 mapping:0000000000000000 index:0xffff888036bacd00 pfn:0x36bac flags: 0xfff00000000000(node=0|zone=1|lastcpupid=0x7ff) raw: 00fff00000000000 ffffea0001243d08 ffff8880b863fdc0 0000000000000000 raw: ffff888036bacd00 0000000000000000 00000000ffffffff 0000000000000000 page dumped because: kasan: bad access detected page_owner tracks the page as freed page last allocated via order 2, migratetype Unmovable, gfp_mask 0x446dc0(GFP_KERNEL_ACCOUNT|__GFP_ZERO|__GFP_NOWARN|__GFP_RETRY_MAYFAIL|__GFP_COMP), pid 16741, tgid 16741 (syz-executor), ts 343313197788, free_ts 380670750466 set_page_owner include/linux/page_owner.h:32 [inline] post_alloc_hook+0x240/0x2a0 mm/page_alloc.c:1851 prep_new_page mm/page_alloc.c:1859 [inline] get_page_from_freelist+0x21e4/0x22c0 mm/page_alloc.c:3858 __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x181/0x370 mm/page_alloc.c:5148 alloc_pages_mpol+0x232/0x4a0 mm/mempolicy.c:2416 ___kmalloc_large_node+0x5f/0x1b0 mm/slub.c:4317 __kmalloc_large_node_noprof+0x18/0x90 mm/slub.c:4348 __do_kmalloc_node mm/slub.c:4364 [inline] __kvmalloc_node ---truncated---

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2025-40064 is a Linux kernel memory safety bug in the SMC networking path. A network device object can be freed before code using it takes a safe reference, causing use-after-free during connect handling. Public sources do not provide CVSS, confirmed exploitation, or broad impact details.

Executive priority

Treat as a kernel maintenance priority, not a confirmed emergency. Focus first on Linux systems using specialized SMC networking features and keep patch management aligned with vendor kernel releases.

Technical view

The bug is a use-after-free of net_device in __pnet_find_base_ndev(), reached from smc_pnet_find_ism_resource() and also affecting smc_pnet_find_roce_resource(). The fix changes destination-device access to hold or safely retrieve the device reference before SMC PNET lookup uses it.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux kernels with the affected SMC networking code and relevant SMC ISM or RoCE paths. The CVE data lists Linux 4.19 through 6.18-related ranges as affected, but package-level vendor mapping is not provided.

Exploitation context

The report came from syzbot/KASAN testing, with a crash trace during connect(). The source bundle does not state active exploitation, public exploit availability, privilege requirements, or remote reachability. KEV is false.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports a real kernel use-after-free found by syzbot and fixed upstream. Missing data includes CVSS, CWE, exploitability analysis, distribution package status, and environmental prerequisites beyond the SMC connect path.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply vendor kernel updates containing the referenced stable fixes.
  • Track Linux distribution advisories for backported package versions.
  • Prioritize systems using SMC, ISM, or RoCE networking features.
  • If no package fix exists, follow vendor guidance before changing SMC configuration.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux kernel versions across affected assets.
  • Check whether SMC-related kernel support is present or enabled.
  • Compare installed kernels against vendor advisories and referenced stable commits.
  • Confirm updated kernels include the net_device reference handling fix.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

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

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
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.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
3Source links

SSVC decision data

CISA-ADPCISA Coordinator
Timestamp
Version
2.0.3
Exploitation: noneAutomatable: noTechnical Impact: partial

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

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ADP provider summaries

CISA-ADPCISA ADP Vulnrichment
other:ssvc
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux0afff91c6f5ecef27715ea71e34dc2baacba1060, 0afff91c6f5ecef27715ea71e34dc2baacba1060unaffected
LinuxLinux4.19, 0, 6.17.3, 6.18affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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