Linux Kernel up to 6.1.155/6.6.111/6.12.52/6.17.2 misc copy_to_user memory leak

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.155/6.6.111/6.12.52/6.17.2. Affected is the function copy_to_user of the component Misc. This manipulation causes memory leak. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2025-40036. There is not any exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.155/6.6.111/6.12.52/6.17.2 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function copy_to_user of the component misc. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: misc: fastrpc: fix possible map leak in fastrpc_put_args copy_to_user() failure would cause an early return without cleaning up the fdlist, which has been updated by the DSP. This could lead to map leak. Fix this by redirecting to a cleanup path on failure, ensuring that all mapped buffers are properly released before returning.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2025-40036 since 04/16/2025. The exploitation appears to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 271883 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2025-40036), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.1.156, 6.6.112, 6.12.53, 6.17.3 or 6.18-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch a085658264d0c8d4f795d4631f77d7289a021de9/3ad42dc66445df6977cf4be0c06f1a655299ce6c/78d33a041555db03903e8037fd053ed74fbd88cb/c000f65f0ac93d9f9cc69a230d372f6ca93e4879/da1ba64176e0138f2bfa96f9e43e8c3640d01e1e 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 (271883) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2431). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Affected

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

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.1.155
• 6.6.111
• 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
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.17.0
• 6.17.1
• 6.17.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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CVSSv4info

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Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

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

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