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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2025-40251

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: rate: Unset parent pointer in devl_rate_nodes_destroy The function devl_rate_nodes_destroy…

Published Dec 4, 2025 · catalog updated Oct 19, 2026 · linux kernel

Open the advisory

Exploitation likelihood is not on this record for CVE-2025-40251. A missing EPSS score is not a low risk. Compare linux kernel with the linked advisory before you change production.

Gaps on this record

  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
  • EPSS is missing. A missing score is not a low risk.
Severity
Medium5.5
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
Awaiting synchronization with FIRST
Remediation
Advisory link
Affected products
cpe linux/linux kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: rate: Unset parent pointer in devl_rate_nodes_destroy The function devl_rate_nodes_destroy is documented to "Unset parent for all rate objects". However, it was only calling the driver-specific or ops and decrementing the parent's refcount, without actually setting the pointer to NULL. This leaves a dangling pointer in the struct, which cause refcount error in netdevsim[1] and mlx5[2]. In addition, this is inconsistent with the behavior of , where the parent pointer is correctly cleared. This patch fixes the issue by explicitly setting to NULL after notifying the driver, thus fulfilling the function's documented behavior for all rate objects. [1] repro steps: echo 1 > /sys/bus/netdevsim/new_device devlink dev eswitch set netdevsim/netdevsim1 mode switchdev echo 1 > /sys/bus/netdevsim/devices/netdevsim1/sriov_numvfs devlink port function rate add netdevsim/netdevsim1/test_node devlink port function rate set netdevsim/netdevsim1/128 parent test_node echo 1 > /sys/bus/netdevsim/del_device dmesg: refcount_t: decrement hit 0; leaking memory. WARNING: CPU: 8 PID: 1530 at lib/refcount.c:31 refcount_warn_saturate+0x42/0xe0 CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 1530 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.18.0-rc4+ #1 NONE Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.0-0-gd239552ce722-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:refcount_warn_saturate+0x42/0xe0 Call Trace: devl_rate_leaf_destroy+0x8d/0x90 __nsim_dev_port_del+0x6c/0x70 [netdevsim] nsim_dev_reload_destroy+0x11c/0x140 [netdevsim] nsim_drv_remove+0x2b/0xb0 [netdevsim] device_release_driver_internal+0x194/0x1f0 bus_remove_device+0xc6/0x130 device_del+0x159/0x3c0 device_unregister+0x1a/0x60 del_device_store+0x111/0x170 [netdevsim] kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x12e/0x1e0 vfs_write+0x215/0x3d0 ksys_write+0x5f/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x55/0x10f0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 [2] devlink dev eswitch set pci/0000:08:00.0 mode switchdev devlink port add pci/0000:

Are you affected?

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  • cpe linux/linux kernel6.18

How to fix CVE-2025-40251

  • Recommended remediation

    A patch or advisory reference is linked. Open the original publisher for availability by product version.

  • Official advisories

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

Exploitation likelihood is not on this record for CVE-2025-40251. A missing EPSS score is not a low risk. Compare linux kernel with the linked advisory before you change production.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with linux/linux kernel 6.18. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference. EPSS is not on this record yet. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Dec 4, 2025 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: rate: Unset parent pointer in devl_rate_nodes_destroy The function devl_rate_nodes_destroy is documented to "Unset parent for all rate objects". However, it was only calling the driver-specific or ops and decrementing the parent's refcount, without actually setting the pointer to NULL. This leaves a dangling pointer in th

  2. Oct 19, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: rate: Unset parent pointer in devl_rate_nodes_destroy The function devl_rate_nodes_destroy is documented to "Unset parent for all rate objects". However, it was only calling the driver-specific or ops and decrementing the parent's refcount, without actually setting the pointer to NULL. This leaves a dangling pointer in th

Sources

  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2025-40251

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: rate: Unset parent pointer in devl_rate_nodes_destroy The function devl_rate_nodes_destroy is documented to "Unset parent for all rate objects". However, it was only calling the driver-specific `rate_l

    nvd.nist.gov

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 19, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.