CVE-2025-39840
Vulnerability Scoring
Status: Awaiting Analysis
Last updated: 🕘 22 Sep 2025, 21:23 UTC
Originally published on: 🕓 19 Sep 2025, 16:15 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 3 days
CVSS Release:
CVE-2025-39840: 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]
The exploitability of CVE-2025-39840 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
No exploitability data is available for CVE-2025-39840.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2025-39840, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2025-39840, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
Unknown
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