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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2025-39950: Linux kernel · net/tcp: Fix a NULL pointer dereference when using TCP-AO with TCP_REPAIR

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.5 Medium · fixed in 6.8.0-1050.53~22.04.1 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
5.5Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 4% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 6.8.0-1050.53~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1058.65~22.04.1 +29
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 4 Oct 2025

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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 to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-1003.3 – 6.17.0-1017.17
10 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • <6.8.0-106.106
Fixed in
  • 6.8.0-106.106
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • <6.8.0-1050.53
Fixed in
  • 6.8.0-1050.53
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-aws-6.14pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws-6.14?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 6.14.0-1007.7~24.04.1 – 6.14.0-1018.18~24.04.1
11 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • <6.8.0-1051.57
Fixed in
  • 6.8.0-1051.57
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSlinux-azure-6.11pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-6.11?arch=source&distro=nobleOther threatsAffected
  • 6.11.0-1008.8~24.04.1 – 6.11.0-1018.18~24.04.1
7 affected builds
Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/tcp: Fix a NULL pointer dereference when using TCP-AO with TCP_REPAIR A NULL pointer dereference can occur in tcp_ao_finish_connect() during a connect() system call on a socket with a TCP-AO key added and TCP_REPAIR enabled. The function is called with skb being NULL and attempts to dereference it on tcp_hdr(skb)->seq without a prior skb validation. Fix this by checking if skb is NULL before dereferencing it. The commentary is taken from bpf_skops_established(), which is also called in the same flow. Unlike the function being patched, bpf_skops_established() validates the skb before dereferencing it. int main(void){ struct sockaddr_in sockaddr; struct tcp_ao_add tcp_ao; int sk; int one = 1; memset(&sockaddr,'\0',sizeof(sockaddr)); memset(&tcp_ao,'\0',sizeof(tcp_ao)); sk = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, IPPROTO_TCP); sockaddr.sin_family = AF_INET; memcpy(tcp_ao.alg_name,"cmac(aes128)",12); memcpy(tcp_ao.key,"ABCDEFGHABCDEFGH",16); tcp_ao.keylen = 16; memcpy(&tcp_ao.addr,&sockaddr,sizeof(sockaddr)); setsockopt(sk, IPPROTO_TCP, TCP_AO_ADD_KEY, &tcp_ao, sizeof(tcp_ao)); setsockopt(sk, IPPROTO_TCP, TCP_REPAIR, &one, sizeof(one)); sockaddr.sin_family = AF_INET; sockaddr.sin_port = htobe16(123); inet_aton("127.0.0.1", &sockaddr.sin_addr); connect(sk,(struct sockaddr *)&sockaddr,sizeof(sockaddr)); return 0; } $ gcc tcp-ao-nullptr.c -o tcp-ao-nullptr -Wall $ unshare -Urn BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000b6 PGD 1f648d067 P4D 1f648d067 PUD 1982e8067 PMD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI Hardware name: VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform/440BX Desktop Reference Platform, BIOS 6.00 11/12/2020 RIP: 0010:tcp_ao_finish_connect (net/ipv4/tcp_ao.c:1182)

References

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