Linux Kernel up to 6.12.45/6.16.5 net dmaengine_desc_get_metadata_ptr buffer overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.45/6.16.5. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function dmaengine_desc_get_metadata_ptr of the component net. This manipulation causes buffer overflow. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2025-39897. There is no available exploit. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.45/6.16.5. It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function dmaengine_desc_get_metadata_ptr of the component net. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-120. The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: xilinx: axienet: Add error handling for RX metadata pointer retrieval Add proper error checking for dmaengine_desc_get_metadata_ptr() which can return an error pointer and lead to potential crashes or undefined behaviour if the pointer retrieval fails. Properly handle the error by unmapping DMA buffer, freeing the skb and returning early to prevent further processing with invalid data.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-39897 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation appears 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 269661 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-39897), 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 d0ecda6fdd840b406df6617b003b036f65dd8926/92e2fc92bc4eb2bc0e84404316fbc02ddd0a3196/8bbceba7dc5090c00105e006ce28d1292cfda8dd 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 (269661) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2170). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Discussion