Linux Kernel up to 6.12.49/6.16.9 net smc_rx_splice use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.49/6.16.9. This affects the function smc_rx_splice of the component net. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2025-40012. There is not any exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.49/6.16.9. This issue affects the function smc_rx_splice of the component net. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/smc: fix warning in smc_rx_splice() when calling get_page() smc_lo_register_dmb() allocates DMB buffers with kzalloc(), which are later passed to get_page() in smc_rx_splice(). Since kmalloc memory is not page-backed, this triggers WARN_ON_ONCE() in get_page() and prevents holding a refcount on the buffer. This can lead to use-after-free if the memory is released before splice_to_pipe() completes. Use folio_alloc() instead, ensuring DMBs are page-backed and safe for get_page(). WARNING: CPU: 18 PID: 12152 at ./include/linux/mm.h:1330 smc_rx_splice+0xaf8/0xe20 [smc] CPU: 18 UID: 0 PID: 12152 Comm: smcapp Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.17.0-rc3-11705-g9cf4672ecfee #10 NONE Hardware name: IBM 3931 A01 704 (z/VM 7.4.0) Krnl PSW : 0704e00180000000 000793161032696c (smc_rx_splice+0xafc/0xe20 [smc]) R:0 T:1 IO:1 EX:1 Key:0 M:1 W:0 P:0 AS:3 CC:2 PM:0 RI:0 EA:3 Krnl GPRS: 0000000000000000 001cee80007d3001 00077400000000f8 0000000000000005 0000000000000001 001cee80007d3006 0007740000001000 001c000000000000 000000009b0c99e0 0000000000001000 001c0000000000f8 001c000000000000 000003ffcc6f7c88 0007740003e98000 0007931600000005 000792969b2ff7b8 Krnl Code: 0007931610326960: af000000 mc 0,0 0007931610326964: a7f4ff43 brc 15,00079316103267ea #0007931610326968: af000000 mc 0,0 >000793161032696c: a7f4ff3f brc 15,00079316103267ea 0007931610326970: e320f1000004 lg %r2,256(%r15) 0007931610326976: c0e53fd1b5f5 brasl %r14,000793168fd5d560 000793161032697c: a7f4fbb5 brc 15,00079316103260e6 0007931610326980: b904002b lgr %r2,%r11 Call Trace: smc_rx_splice+0xafc/0xe20 [smc] smc_rx_splice+0x756/0xe20 [smc]) smc_rx_recvmsg+0xa74/0xe00 [smc] smc_splice_read+0x1ce/0x3b0 [smc] sock_splice_read+0xa2/0xf0 do_splice_read+0x198/0x240 splice_file_to_pipe+0x7e/0x110 do_splice+0x59e/0xde0 __do_splice+0x11a/0x2d0 __s390x_sys_splice+0x140/0x1f0 __do_syscall+0x122/0x280 system_call+0x6e/0x90 Last Breaking-Event-Address: smc_rx_splice+0x960/0xe20 [smc] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-40012 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation is known to be easy. 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 02/12/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 271659 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-40012), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.50 or 6.16.10 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 14fc4fdae42e34d7ee871b292ac2ecc61c2c5de7/d5411685dc2f6ac7bdf01a0a204d56cae38c6cf6/a35c04de2565db191726b5741e6b66a35002c652 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 (271659) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2350). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Debian Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• Open Source Linux Kernel

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
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 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/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Exploitinginfo

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Entryinfo

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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