CVE-2025-39677: Linux kernel · net/sched: Fix backlog accounting in qdisc_dequeue_internal
Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High · fixed in dcfed7251e23cd71d32c4ecc444ff97992087e46 : patch Linux kernel soon.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:18 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
- Automatable
- Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
- Technical impact
- Total control over the software or total information disclosure
CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-15.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in dcfed7251e23cd71d32c4ecc444ff97992087e46, a225f44d84b8900d679c5f5a9ea46fe9c0cc7802, 52bf272636bda69587952b35ae97690b8dc89941 +1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 5 Sep 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade Linux kernel to dcfed7251e23cd71d32c4ecc444ff97992087e46, a225f44d84b8900d679c5f5a9ea46fe9c0cc7802, 52bf272636bda69587952b35ae97690b8dc89941 or 38cdf8d1f5f3ee133f6e48dd422df4057fa9bfcb.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
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| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: Fix backlog accounting in qdisc_dequeue_internal This issue applies for the following qdiscs: hhf, fq, fq_codel, and fq_pie, and occurs in their change handlers when adjusting to the new limit. The problem is the following in the values passed to the subsequent qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog call given a tbf parent: When the tbf parent runs out of tokens, skbs of these qdiscs will be placed in gso_skb. Their peek handlers are qdisc_peek_dequeued, which accounts for both qlen and backlog. However, in the case of qdisc_dequeue_internal, ONLY qlen is accounted for when pulling from gso_skb. This means that these qdiscs are missing a qdisc_qstats_backlog_dec when dropping packets to satisfy the new limit in their change handlers. One can observe this issue with the following (with tc patched to support a limit of 0): export TARGET=fq tc qdisc del dev lo root tc qdisc add dev lo root handle 1: tbf rate 8bit burst 100b latency 1ms tc qdisc replace dev lo handle 3: parent 1:1 $TARGET limit 1000 echo ''; echo 'add child'; tc -s -d qdisc show dev lo ping -I lo -f -c2 -s32 -W0.001 127.0.0.1 2>&1 >/dev/null echo ''; echo 'after ping'; tc -s -d qdisc show dev lo tc qdisc change dev lo handle 3: parent 1:1 $TARGET limit 0 echo ''; echo 'after limit drop'; tc -s -d qdisc show dev lo tc qdisc replace dev lo handle 2: parent 1:1 sfq echo ''; echo 'post graft'; tc -s -d qdisc show dev lo The second to last show command shows 0 packets but a positive number (74) of backlog bytes. The problem becomes clearer in the last show command, where qdisc_purge_queue triggers qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog with the positive backlog and causes an underflow in the tbf parent's backlog (4096 Mb instead of 0). To fix this issue, the codepath for all clients of qdisc_dequeue_internal has been simplified: codel, pie, hhf, fq, fq_pie, and fq_codel. qdisc_dequeue_internal handles the backlog adjustments for all cases that do not directly use the dequeue handler. The old fq_codel_change limit adjustment loop accumulated the arguments to the subsequent qdisc_tree_reduce_backlog call through the cstats field. However, this is confusing and error prone as fq_codel_dequeue could also potentially mutate this field (which qdisc_dequeue_internal calls in the non gso_skb case), so we have unified the code here with other qdiscs.
References
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcfed7251e23cd71d32c4ecc444ff97992087e46 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/38cdf8d1f5f3ee133f6e48dd422df4057fa9bfcb (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a225f44d84b8900d679c5f5a9ea46fe9c0cc7802 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/52bf272636bda69587952b35ae97690b8dc89941 (opens in a new tab)