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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2025-40042: Linux kernel · tracing: Fix race condition in kprobe initialization causing NULL pointer dereference

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

0

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, 17:16 UTC

Severity
Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

EPSS
0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 13% 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 +71

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 28 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 25.10linuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • <6.17.0-14.14
Fixed in
  • 6.17.0-14.14
Ubuntu 25.10linux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • <6.17.0-1007.7
Fixed in
  • 6.17.0-1007.7
Ubuntu 25.10linux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • <6.17.0-1008.8
Fixed in
  • 6.17.0-1008.8
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 25.10linux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • <6.17.0-1007.7
Fixed in
  • 6.17.0-1007.7
Ubuntu 25.10linux-oraclepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-oracle?arch=source&distro=questingOther threatsAffected
  • <6.17.0-1007.7
Fixed in
  • 6.17.0-1007.7

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: tracing: Fix race condition in kprobe initialization causing NULL pointer dereference There is a critical race condition in kprobe initialization that can lead to NULL pointer dereference and kernel crash. [1135630.084782] Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address 0000710a04630000 ... [1135630.260314] pstate: 404003c9 (nZcv DAIF +PAN -UAO) [1135630.269239] pc : kprobe_perf_func+0x30/0x260 [1135630.277643] lr : kprobe_dispatcher+0x44/0x60 [1135630.286041] sp : ffffaeff4977fa40 [1135630.293441] x29: ffffaeff4977fa40 x28: ffffaf015340e400 [1135630.302837] x27: 0000000000000000 x26: 0000000000000000 [1135630.312257] x25: ffffaf029ed108a8 x24: ffffaf015340e528 [1135630.321705] x23: ffffaeff4977fc50 x22: ffffaeff4977fc50 [1135630.331154] x21: 0000000000000000 x20: ffffaeff4977fc50 [1135630.340586] x19: ffffaf015340e400 x18: 0000000000000000 [1135630.349985] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 [1135630.359285] x15: 0000000000000000 x14: 0000000000000000 [1135630.368445] x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000 [1135630.377473] x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000000 [1135630.386411] x9 : 0000000000000000 x8 : 0000000000000000 [1135630.395252] x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000000 [1135630.403963] x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000 [1135630.412545] x3 : 0000710a04630000 x2 : 0000000000000006 [1135630.421021] x1 : ffffaeff4977fc50 x0 : 0000710a04630000 [1135630.429410] Call trace: [1135630.434828] kprobe_perf_func+0x30/0x260 [1135630.441661] kprobe_dispatcher+0x44/0x60 [1135630.448396] aggr_pre_handler+0x70/0xc8 [1135630.454959] kprobe_breakpoint_handler+0x140/0x1e0 [1135630.462435] brk_handler+0xbc/0xd8 [1135630.468437] do_debug_exception+0x84/0x138 [1135630.475074] el1_dbg+0x18/0x8c [1135630.480582] security_file_permission+0x0/0xd0 [1135630.487426] vfs_write+0x70/0x1c0 [1135630.493059] ksys_write+0x5c/0xc8 [1135630.498638] __arm64_sys_write+0x24/0x30 [1135630.504821] el0_svc_common+0x78/0x130 [1135630.510838] el0_svc_handler+0x38/0x78 [1135630.516834] el0_svc+0x8/0x1b0 kernel/trace/trace_kprobe.c: 1308 0xffff3df8995039ec <kprobe_perf_func+0x2c>: ldr x21, [x24,#120] include/linux/compiler.h: 294 0xffff3df8995039f0 <kprobe_perf_func+0x30>: ldr x1, [x21,x0] kernel/trace/trace_kprobe.c 1308: head = this_cpu_ptr(call->perf_events); 1309: if (hlist_empty(head)) 1310: return 0; crash> struct trace_event_call -o struct trace_event_call { ... [120] struct hlist_head *perf_events; //(call->perf_event) ... } crash> struct trace_event_call ffffaf015340e528 struct trace_event_call { ... perf_events = 0xffff0ad5fa89f088, //this value is correct, but x21 = 0 ... } Race Condition Analysis: The race occurs between kprobe activation and perf_events initialization: CPU0 CPU1 ==== ==== perf_kprobe_init perf_trace_event_init tp_event->perf_events = list;(1) tp_event->class->reg (2)← KPROBE ACTIVE Debug exception triggers ... kprobe_dispatcher kprobe_perf_func (tk->tp.flags & TP_FLAG_PROFILE) head = this_cpu_ptr(call->perf_events)(3) (perf_events is still NULL) Problem: 1. CPU0 executes (1) assigning tp_event->perf_events = list 2. CPU0 executes (2) enabling kprobe functionality via class->reg() 3. CPU1 triggers and reaches kprobe_dispatcher 4. CPU1 checks TP_FLAG_PROFILE - condition passes (step 2 completed) 5. CPU1 calls kprobe_perf_func() and crashes at (3) because call->perf_events is still NULL CPU1 sees that kprobe functionality is enabled but does not see that perf_events has been assigned. Add pairing read an ---truncated---

References

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