CVE-2025-40039: ksmbd: Fix race condition in RPC handle list access

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2025-40039 is a high (CVSS 8.8) vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.31% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 24.2% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 28-10-2025
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 05-08-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: Fix race condition in RPC handle list access The 'sess->rpc_handle_list' XArray manages RPC handles within a ksmbd session. Access to this list is intended to be protected by 'sess->rpc_lock' (an rw_semaphore). However, the locking implementation was flawed, leading to potential race conditions. In ksmbd_session_rpc_open(), the code incorrectly acquired only a read lock before calling xa_store() and xa_erase(). Since these operations modify the XArray structure, a write lock is required to ensure exclusive access and prevent data corruption from concurrent modifications. Furthermore, ksmbd_session_rpc_method() accessed the list using xa_load() without holding any lock at all. This could lead to reading inconsistent data or a potential use-after-free if an entry is concurrently removed and the pointer is dereferenced. Fix these issues by: 1. Using down_write() and up_write() in ksmbd_session_rpc_open() to ensure exclusive access during XArray modification, and ensuring the lock is correctly released on error paths. 2. Adding down_read() and up_read() in ksmbd_session_rpc_method() to safely protect the lookup.

• CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper SynchronizationThe product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.