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High 7.1Published Sep 19, 2025

CVE-2025-39840audit: fix out-of-bounds read in audit_compare_dname_path()

Updated under an hour ago ()

Does this affect you?

It affects Linux and 1 other product. Add what you run to find out whether that includes you.

No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: audit: fix out-of-bounds read in audit_compare_dname_path() When a watch on dir=/ is combined with an fsnotify event for a single-character name directly under / (e.g., creating /a), an out-of-bounds read can occur in audit_compare_dname_path(). The helper parent_len() returns 1 for "/". In audit_compare_dname_path(), when parentlen equals the full path length (1), the code sets p = path + 1 and pathlen = 1 - 1 = 0. The subsequent loop then dereferences p[pathlen - 1] (i.e., p[-1]), causing an out-of-bounds read. Fix this by adding a pathlen > 0 check to the while loop condition to prevent the out-of-bounds access. [PM: subject tweak, sign-off email fixes]

CVSS
7.1 HIGH (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-125
Known exploited
Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
Not loaded for this CVE
Assigned by
Linux
NVD analysis
Modified
Record last updated
Aug 5, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals
Oct 19, 2026

Affected products

Affected products
Linux Linux
linux:linux (from the name)
from e92eebb0d6116f942ab25dfb1a41905aa59472a8 before 9735a9dcc307427e7d6336c54171682f1bac9789; from e92eebb0d6116f942ab25dfb1a41905aa59472a8 before 4540f1d23e7f387880ce46d11b5cd3f27248bf8d
CNA record
linux linux_kernel
linux:linux_kernel
from 6.14 before 6.16.6; 6.17; 6.17; 6.17; 6.17
NVD

References

References

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

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