In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: fix refcount leak in nfsd_set_fh_dentry() nfsd exports a "pseudo root… (CVE-2025-40212)
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: fix refcount leak in nfsd_set_fh_dentry() nfsd exports a "pseudo root filesystem" which is used by NFSv4 to find the various exported filesystems using LOOKUP requests from a known root filehandle. NFSv3 uses the MOUNT protocol to find those exported filesystems and so is not given access to the pseudo root filesystem. If a v3 (or v2) client uses a filehandle from that filesystem, nfsd_set_fh_dentry() will report an error, but still stores the export in "struct svc_fh" even though it also drops the reference (exp_put()). This means that when fh_put() is called an extra reference will be dropped which can lead to use-after-free and possible denial of service. Normal NFS usage will not provide a pseudo-root filehandle to a v3 client. This bug can only be triggered by the client synthesising an incorrect filehandle. To fix this we move the assignments to the svc_fh later, after all possible error cases have been detected.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: fix refcount leak in nfsd_set_fh_dentry() nfsd exports a "pseudo root… (CVE-2025-40212)
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: fix refcount leak in nfsd_set_fh_dentry() nfsd exports a "pseudo root filesystem" which is used by NFSv4 to find the various exported filesystems using LOOKUP requests from a known root filehandle. NFSv3 uses the MOUNT protocol to find those exported filesystems and so is not given access to the pseudo root filesystem. If a v3 (or v2) client uses a filehandle from that filesystem, nfsd_set_fh_dentry() will report an error, but still stores the export in "struct svc_fh" even though it also drops the reference (exp_put()). This means that when fh_put() is called an extra reference will be dropped which can lead to use-after-free and possible denial of service. Normal NFS usage will not provide a pseudo-root filehandle to a v3 client. This bug can only be triggered by the client synthesising an incorrect filehandle. To fix this we move the assignments to the svc_fh later, after all possible error cases have been detected.
CVSS v3.1
Technical Details
- Gcve Source
- db.gcve.eu
- Osv Id
- GHSA-cjm8-jghh-jmq3
- Osv Schema Version
- 1.4.0
- Aliases
- ["CVE-2025-40212"]
- Ecosystems
- []
- Database Specific Severity
- CRITICAL
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
Threat ID: 6a6b72d59c2644c7f847a28f
Added to database: 07/30/2026, 15:50:45 UTC
Last updated: 07/30/2026, 15:50:45 UTC
Views: 1
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