Linux Kernel up to 6.12.45/6.16.5 disable_work_sync use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.45/6.16.5 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function disable_work_sync. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2025-39896. There is no exploit available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.45/6.16.5. This affects the function disable_work_sync. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: accel/ivpu: Prevent recovery work from being queued during device removal Use disable_work_sync() instead of cancel_work_sync() in ivpu_dev_fini() to ensure that no new recovery work items can be queued after device removal has started. Previously, recovery work could be scheduled even after canceling existing work, potentially leading to use-after-free bugs if recovery accessed freed resources. Rename ivpu_pm_cancel_recovery() to ivpu_pm_disable_recovery() to better reflect its new behavior.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2025-39896 since 04/16/2025. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 01/07/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 269677 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-39896), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.46 or 6.16.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 54c49eca38dbd06913a696f6d7610937dcfad226/565d2c15b6c36c3250e694f7b9a86229c1787be5/69a79ada8eb034ce016b5b78fb7d08d8687223de is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (269677) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2170). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.16.0
• 6.16.1
• 6.16.2
• 6.16.3
• 6.16.4
• 6.16.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

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