Linux Kernel up to 6.16.9 mlx5_cmd_hws_delete_fte initialization

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16.9. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function mlx5_cmd_hws_delete_fte. The manipulation leads to initialization. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2025-39979. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.16.9. This issue affects the function mlx5_cmd_hws_delete_fte. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a initialization vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-665. The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mlx5: fs, fix UAF in flow counter release Fix a kernel trace [1] caused by releasing an HWS action of a local flow counter in mlx5_cmd_hws_delete_fte(), where the HWS action refcount and mutex were not initialized and the counter struct could already be freed when deleting the rule. Fix it by adding the missing initializations and adding refcount for the local flow counter struct. [1] Kernel log: Call Trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x34/0x48 mlx5_fs_put_hws_action.part.0.cold+0x21/0x94 [mlx5_core] mlx5_fc_put_hws_action+0x96/0xad [mlx5_core] mlx5_fs_destroy_fs_actions+0x8b/0x152 [mlx5_core] mlx5_cmd_hws_delete_fte+0x5a/0xa0 [mlx5_core] del_hw_fte+0x1ce/0x260 [mlx5_core] mlx5_del_flow_rules+0x12d/0x240 [mlx5_core] ? ttwu_queue_wakelist+0xf4/0x110 mlx5_ib_destroy_flow+0x103/0x1b0 [mlx5_ib] uverbs_free_flow+0x20/0x50 [ib_uverbs] destroy_hw_idr_uobject+0x1b/0x50 [ib_uverbs] uverbs_destroy_uobject+0x34/0x1a0 [ib_uverbs] uobj_destroy+0x3c/0x80 [ib_uverbs] ib_uverbs_run_method+0x23e/0x360 [ib_uverbs] ? uverbs_finalize_object+0x60/0x60 [ib_uverbs] ib_uverbs_cmd_verbs+0x14f/0x2c0 [ib_uverbs] ? do_tty_write+0x1a9/0x270 ? file_tty_write.constprop.0+0x98/0xc0 ? new_sync_write+0xfc/0x190 ib_uverbs_ioctl+0xd7/0x160 [ib_uverbs] __x64_sys_ioctl+0x87/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x59/0x90

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-39979 since 04/16/2025. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/08/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 271545 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-39979), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.16.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3c77f6d244188c3fb11f6aec40bbfe884f1803b5/6043819e707cefb1c9e59d6e431dcfa735c4f975 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 (271545) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2298). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• IBM QRadar SIEM
• Dell NetWorker

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.16.0
• 6.16.1
• 6.16.2
• 6.16.3
• 6.16.4
• 6.16.5
• 6.16.6
• 6.16.7
• 6.16.8
• 6.16.9

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

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