CVE-2025-40220: Linux kernel · fuse: fix livelock in synchronous file put from fuseblk workers
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · fixed in 5.15.0-1100.107~20.04.2 : update Linux kernel when convenient.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 8% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 5.15.0-1100.107~20.04.2, 5.15.0-1110.119~20.04.1, 5.15.0-1100.109~20.04.1 +67
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Dec 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 to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 25.10linuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux@6.17.0-14.14?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 25.10linux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws@6.17.0-1007.7?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure@6.17.0-1008.8?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde@6.17.0-1017.17?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 25.10linux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp@6.17.0-1007.7?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Ubuntu 25.10linux-oraclepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-oracle@6.17.0-1007.7?arch=source&distro=questingOther threats | Affected
| 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: fuse: fix livelock in synchronous file put from fuseblk workers I observed a hang when running generic/323 against a fuseblk server. This test opens a file, initiates a lot of AIO writes to that file descriptor, and closes the file descriptor before the writes complete. Unsurprisingly, the AIO exerciser threads are mostly stuck waiting for responses from the fuseblk server: # cat /proc/372265/task/372313/stack [<0>] request_wait_answer+0x1fe/0x2a0 [fuse] [<0>] __fuse_simple_request+0xd3/0x2b0 [fuse] [<0>] fuse_do_getattr+0xfc/0x1f0 [fuse] [<0>] fuse_file_read_iter+0xbe/0x1c0 [fuse] [<0>] aio_read+0x130/0x1e0 [<0>] io_submit_one+0x542/0x860 [<0>] __x64_sys_io_submit+0x98/0x1a0 [<0>] do_syscall_64+0x37/0xf0 [<0>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 But the /weird/ part is that the fuseblk server threads are waiting for responses from itself: # cat /proc/372210/task/372232/stack [<0>] request_wait_answer+0x1fe/0x2a0 [fuse] [<0>] __fuse_simple_request+0xd3/0x2b0 [fuse] [<0>] fuse_file_put+0x9a/0xd0 [fuse] [<0>] fuse_release+0x36/0x50 [fuse] [<0>] __fput+0xec/0x2b0 [<0>] task_work_run+0x55/0x90 [<0>] syscall_exit_to_user_mode+0xe9/0x100 [<0>] do_syscall_64+0x43/0xf0 [<0>] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 The fuseblk server is fuse2fs so there's nothing all that exciting in the server itself. So why is the fuse server calling fuse_file_put? The commit message for the fstest sheds some light on that: "By closing the file descriptor before calling io_destroy, you pretty much guarantee that the last put on the ioctx will be done in interrupt context (during I/O completion). Aha. AIO fgets a new struct file from the fd when it queues the ioctx. The completion of the FUSE_WRITE command from userspace causes the fuse server to call the AIO completion function. The completion puts the struct file, queuing a delayed fput to the fuse server task. When the fuse server task returns to userspace, it has to run the delayed fput, which in the case of a fuseblk server, it does synchronously. Sending the FUSE_RELEASE command sychronously from fuse server threads is a bad idea because a client program can initiate enough simultaneous AIOs such that all the fuse server threads end up in delayed_fput, and now there aren't any threads left to handle the queued fuse commands. Fix this by only using asynchronous fputs when closing files, and leave a comment explaining why.
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-40220 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-40220 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/linus/26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/26e5c67deb2e1f42a951f022fdf5b9f7eb747b01 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/548e1f2bac1d4df91a6138f26bb4ab00323fd948 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/83b375c6efef69b1066ad2d79601221e7892745a (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b26923512dbe57ae4917bafd31396d22a9d1691a (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/bfd17b6138df0122a95989457d8e18ce0b86165e (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/cfd1aa3e2b71f3327cb373c45a897c9028c62b35 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f19a1390af448d9e193c08e28ea5f727bf3c3049 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8029-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8030-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8033-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8033-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8033-3 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8034-1 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8033-4 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8029-2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8033-5 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8034-2 (opens in a new tab)